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On Tuesday morning citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves inhaling severely hazardous air that registered in the "critical" range.

Alarming Air Quality Levels

Various sections of the city recorded an AQI above 500, which represents 10x the healthy level established by the global health authority.

Certain monitoring stations, levels of PM2.5 and PM10 soared to of 1800, equating to 15 to 20 times above safe levels.

Pyrotechnics Restrictions and New Changes

For the past four years, authorities had enforced a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of firecrackers during Diwali due to their substantial impact to the dangerous smog that covers the capital as the cold season begins.

However recently, the recently formed regional government petitioned the highest court to propose a relaxation of the prohibition.

The suggestion was allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – historically doubted by environmental experts as being only about 30% lower impact – as a middle ground between "heritage and environment".

Judicial Decision and Enforcement

Despite concerns of public health and environmental activists, the court agreed to the appeal, mandating that green firecrackers could be set off during limited time windows throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable disregard of the designated hours across the metropolis, with minimal enforcement regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Numerous monitoring devices throughout Delhi registered air quality spiking around late evening to the most severe readings observed during celebrations in at least the past three years.

Regional Effects

Extensive ignition of pyrotechnics during the celebrations also sparked a blame game with bordering Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistan's the Punjab region pointing to worsening atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on hazardous particles coming from neighboring India following the events.

Long-Standing Pollution Issue

Extremely elevated concentrations of atmospheric toxins in the city have continued as a significant issue for more than 15 years, with the situation continuing to worsen.

During the festival period, the concentration of toxic particulate matter in the air has been found to shoot up to significantly exceeding the worst levels ever documented in the Chinese city, which was once considered as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Diverse Pollution Contributors

The situation in Delhi is caused by a mix of various sources including automobile exhaust, dust, building projects, garbage fires and pollutants from agricultural fires in neighbouring states of neighboring agricultural zones.

Within these states, rural residents regularly set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, generating dangerous haze that then gets trapped over the capital as cooler air descends.

Health and Economic Impact

The economic and health consequences on the approximately 33 million residents residing in the Delhi area is substantial, according to numerous studies.

These hazardous conditions causes increased incidence of neurological, cardiovascular and lung conditions, and can potentially cause malignancies.

The pollution is estimated to be responsible for 10,000 premature mortalities each year in Delhi.