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On Tuesday morning inhabitants of the world's most polluted city were faced with exposed to dangerously toxic air that fell into the "critical" range.

Alarming Pollution Levels

Several parts of the capital registered an AQI over 500, which represents ten times the recommended limit established by the WHO.

Certain monitoring stations, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1800, representing 15 to 20 times above healthy limits.

Firecracker Prohibition and Recent Changes

For the past four years, the government had enforced a complete ban on the sale and use of pyrotechnics during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the dangerous haze that engulfs the capital as winter begins.

Yet in recent months, the newly elected city government approached the highest court to propose a modification of the prohibition.

Officials advocated for allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – previously doubted by environmentalists as being only approximately one-third reduced emissions – as a balance between "heritage and ecological concerns".

Legal Decision and Reality

Much to the frustration of environmental and health activists, judges approved the request, specifying that green firecrackers could be ignited during limited hours throughout the Diwali.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable flouting of the regulated periods across the metropolis, with minimal monitoring regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the eco-friendly type.

Many monitoring devices throughout the capital showed air quality spiking around midnight to extremely hazardous levels recorded during celebrations in at least three years.

International Implications

The proliferation of fireworks during Diwali also sparked a dispute with neighbouring Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab province partly blaming declining atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on pollutants originating in India following the celebrations.

Chronic Environmental Crisis

The dangerously high levels of air contamination in the capital have continued as a significant challenge for fifteen-plus years, with the situation gradually deteriorating.

Around celebratory seasons, the amount of hazardous particulate matter in the atmosphere has been observed to shoot up to seventy percent above the worst levels ever recorded in Beijing, which was previously viewed as the world's most polluted city.

Various Pollution Contributors

The situation in the capital is attributed to a convergence of different contributors including transportation pollution, dust, development work, rubbish burning and haze from farm burning in nearby states of neighboring agricultural zones.

Within these states, agricultural workers routinely set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, creating toxic smog that remains stagnant over the city as winter air arrives.

Medical and Economic Consequences

Both financial and medical impact on the approximately 33 million inhabitants living in the Delhi area is substantial, according to various studies.

This pollution causes increased incidence of neurological, cardiovascular and breathing conditions, and can potentially cause oncological diseases.

Air quality crisis is estimated to be causing approximately 10k premature mortalities each year in the capital.