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Tuesday brought citizens of the world's most polluted city were faced with inhaling extremely polluted air that was classified as the "severe" category.

Alarming Pollution Levels

Multiple areas of the city showed an pollution measurement exceeding 500, which equals a tenfold increase over the healthy limit set by the global health authority.

Particular areas, concentrations of toxic particulate matter hit highs of 1,800, equating to 15-20x higher than acceptable levels.

Fireworks Prohibition and New Changes

For the past four years, authorities had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their significant contribution to the hazardous pollution that engulfs the city as colder weather begins.

However recently, the newly elected city government petitioned the supreme court to request a relaxation of the prohibition.

Officials advocated for allowing "green crackers" – previously doubted by environmentalists as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a middle ground between "tradition and environment".

Judicial Ruling and Reality

Much to the frustration of medical and ecological advocates, judges approved the appeal, specifying that environmentally conscious fireworks could be set off during designated time windows throughout the Diwali.

During the celebrations, there was considerable violation of the designated hours across the city, with insufficient monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly type.

Several recording stations throughout the city registered air quality reaching highest levels around midnight to the most severe measurements observed during the festival in at least recent memory.

Regional Consequences

The proliferation of firecrackers during the festival also initiated a blame game with neighbouring the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistani Punjab province partly blaming worsening atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on contaminants originating in across the border following the festivities.

Chronic Environmental Issue

Extremely elevated readings of air contamination in Delhi have continued as a major issue for more than 15 years, with the condition showing no improvement.

Around celebratory seasons, the amount of toxic airborne contaminants in the air has been documented to spike to seventy percent above the worst readings ever recorded in China's capital, which was previously regarded as the world's most polluted city.

Diverse Contamination Sources

The situation in the capital is attributed to a convergence of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, construction debris, construction activities, garbage fires and pollutants from farm burning in neighbouring regions of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers regularly set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, generating dangerous smog that then gets trapped over the city as cooler air arrives.

Medical and Economic Consequences

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

This pollution leads to elevated rates of neurological, cardiovascular and lung disorders, and can result in malignancies.

The pollution is estimated to be causing ten thousand early deaths each year in Delhi.