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As Tuesday dawned citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center encountered exposed to severely hazardous air that was classified as the "severe" category.

Alarming Air Quality Levels

Various sections of the capital recorded an AQI exceeding 500, which translates to 10x the recommended limit set by the global health authority.

Particular areas, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of eighteen hundred, amounting to 15 to 20 times exceeding healthy levels.

Firecracker Prohibition and Recent Changes

For the past four years, officials had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of fireworks during Diwali due to their major role to the deadly smog that covers the city as the cold season begins.

However recently, the recently formed local leadership petitioned the highest court to propose a relaxation of the restrictions.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – previously criticized by conservation groups as being only approximately one-third reduced emissions – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and ecological concerns".

Legal Decision and Enforcement

Much to the frustration of public health and environmental advocates, the court complied with the request, stipulating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be set off during specific periods throughout the festival.

On Monday night, there was widespread flouting of the designated hours across the city, with little regulation regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Many recording stations throughout the capital registered contamination reaching highest levels around late evening to some of the worst readings observed during Diwali in at least three years.

International Consequences

Extensive ignition of pyrotechnics during Diwali also triggered a dispute with adjacent the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistan's Punjab partially attributing deteriorating pollution levels in Lahore on contaminants traveling from India following the celebrations.

Persistent Pollution Crisis

Alarmingly severe concentrations of atmospheric toxins in the city have remained as a serious issue for over a decade and a half, with the condition showing no improvement.

Near the festival period, the amount of toxic particles in the air has been observed to shoot up to 70% higher the most severe records ever recorded in the Chinese city, which was formerly considered as the globally most contaminated urban center.

Multiple Pollution Factors

The problem in the city is resulting from a convergence of different contributors including automobile exhaust, dust, construction activities, garbage fires and smoke from agricultural fires in nearby states of farming communities.

In these regions, agricultural workers illegally ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, producing dangerous haze that remains stagnant over the metropolitan area as winter air descends.

Health and Financial Toll

Public health and economic consequences on the approximately 33 million residents living in the capital region is enormous, according to multiple investigations.

The contaminated air results in high levels of nervous system, heart and circulatory and lung diseases, and can potentially cause oncological diseases.

Air quality crisis is projected to be causing 10,000 premature mortalities per year in Delhi.