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On Tuesday morning citizens of the world's most polluted city encountered breathing severely hazardous air that fell into the "critical" level.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Readings

Multiple areas of Delhi recorded an AQI exceeding 500, which translates to a tenfold increase over the healthy level established by the World Health Organization.

Particular areas, levels of toxic particulate matter reached peaks of eighteen hundred, amounting to 15-20x higher than safe levels.

Fireworks Restrictions and Recent Changes

For the past four years, authorities had implemented a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during celebrations due to their substantial impact to the deadly smog that covers the city as winter sets in.

Yet recently, the newly elected local government approached the judicial authority to seek a relaxation of the ban.

They proposed allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – previously criticized by environmentalists as being only about 30% lower impact – as a middle ground between "tradition and ecological concerns".

Legal Verdict and Implementation

Despite concerns of public health and environmental activists, the court complied with the proposal, mandating that green firecrackers could be set off during specific periods throughout the Diwali.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable flouting of the regulated periods across the metropolis, with minimal regulation regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the more environmentally friendly type.

Numerous air quality sensors throughout the city recorded pollution spiking around midnight to extremely hazardous readings observed during Diwali in at least three years.

International Effects

Extensive ignition of firecrackers during the festival also triggered a controversy with bordering Pakistan, with representatives in Pakistan's Punjab partly blaming worsening pollution levels in their urban centers on pollutants coming from India following the festivities.

Chronic Environmental Crisis

Alarmingly severe levels of air contamination in the city have continued as a significant problem for over a decade and a half, with the problem showing no improvement.

During Diwali, the amount of hazardous particulate matter in the atmosphere has been observed to shoot up to seventy percent above the worst records ever recorded in Beijing, which was previously considered as the world's most polluted city.

Various Contamination Factors

The problem in the city is caused by a convergence of multiple factors including heavy vehicle emissions, airborne particles, development work, garbage fires and smoke from farm burning in nearby regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers routinely burn crop residue to clear them quickly, creating hazardous smog that remains stagnant over the metropolitan area as winter air descends.

Health and Financial Consequences

The economic and health impact on the approximately 33 million people residing in the Delhi area is significant, according to numerous investigations.

These hazardous conditions leads to elevated rates of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing diseases, and can potentially cause oncological diseases.

The pollution is projected to be accounting for approximately 10k early deaths per year in the capital.