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Tuesday brought residents of the world's most polluted city found themselves exposed to dangerously toxic air that fell into the "severe" range.

Alarming Air Quality Measurements

Multiple areas of Delhi registered an air quality index above 500, which translates to a tenfold increase over the healthy limit recommended by the global health authority.

Certain monitoring stations, levels of PM2.5 and PM10 soared to of 1,800, amounting to 15 to 20 times above acceptable levels.

Firecracker Ban and New Policy Shifts

For the past four years, the government had implemented a total prohibition on the purchase and ignition of firecrackers during Diwali due to their major role to the deadly pollution that engulfs the metropolis as winter sets in.

However in recent months, the recently formed regional leadership approached the judicial authority to propose a modification of the restrictions.

Officials advocated for allowing "green crackers" – which have been doubted by conservation groups as being only approximately one-third less polluting – as a compromise between "heritage and environment".

Legal Ruling and Enforcement

Much to the frustration of medical and ecological activists, judges approved the request, specifying that green firecrackers could be set off during designated hours throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was extensive flouting of the designated hours across the metropolis, with little monitoring regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Several air quality sensors throughout Delhi showed pollution spiking around midnight to extremely hazardous readings recorded during celebrations in at least the past three years.

Cross-Border Effects

Extensive ignition of fireworks during the festival also triggered a dispute with adjacent the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistani Punjab partly blaming worsening air quality in the city of Lahore on hazardous particles coming from India following the festivities.

Chronic Environmental Crisis

The dangerously high concentrations of atmospheric toxins in the capital have persisted as a serious problem for more than 15 years, with the situation showing no improvement.

Around the festival period, the amount of toxic particulate matter in the air has been found to shoot up to 70% higher the most severe records ever recorded in China's capital, which was formerly regarded as the planet's dirtiest metropolis.

Multiple Pollution Sources

The problem in Delhi is caused by a mix of different contributors including transportation pollution, dust, construction activities, garbage fires and haze from crop residue ignition in nearby states of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, rural residents regularly set their fields on fire to clear them quickly, creating toxic smog that becomes contained over the metropolitan area as cooler air arrives.

Public Health and Financial Toll

Both financial and medical consequences on the approximately 33 million inhabitants residing in the capital region is significant, according to numerous investigations.

These hazardous conditions causes high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and breathing diseases, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

Air quality crisis is projected to be responsible for 10,000 premature fatalities annually in the capital.