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Tuesday brought residents of the world's most polluted city found themselves inhaling dangerously toxic air that was classified as the "critical" category.

Extremely High Air Quality Measurements

Multiple areas of the capital showed an AQI over 500, which equals 10x the healthy threshold recommended by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, readings of dangerous airborne particles soared to of 1,800, representing fifteen to twenty times higher than acceptable levels.

Firecracker Restrictions and New Changes

For the past four years, officials had implemented a complete ban on the purchase and ignition of pyrotechnics during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the deadly pollution that blankets the capital as the cold season sets in.

Yet recently, the current regional leadership petitioned the judicial authority to request a modification of the restrictions.

They proposed allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – which have been doubted by conservation groups as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a middle ground between "tradition and environment".

Court Decision and Reality

Despite concerns of environmental and health campaigners, the court agreed to the appeal, stipulating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be used during limited periods throughout the festival.

During the celebrations, there was extensive flouting of the regulated periods across the metropolis, with insufficient monitoring regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the eco-friendly type.

Many recording stations throughout the city recorded contamination spiking around midnight to the most severe readings seen during celebrations in at least three years.

Cross-Border Consequences

The proliferation of pyrotechnics during Diwali also initiated a controversy with bordering the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistan's Punjab partly blaming declining atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on hazardous particles originating in India following the festivities.

Chronic Environmental Problem

Extremely elevated concentrations of atmospheric toxins in the capital have continued as a major problem for over a decade and a half, with the situation continuing to worsen.

Near the festival period, the amount of toxic airborne contaminants in the environment has been found to shoot up to seventy percent above the most severe readings ever recorded in Beijing, which was formerly viewed as the world's most polluted city.

Multiple Pollution Factors

The problem in the capital is caused by a convergence of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, construction debris, building projects, rubbish burning and smoke from agricultural fires in neighbouring states of farming communities.

In these regions, rural residents illegally burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, creating hazardous haze that then gets trapped over the city as colder air descends.

Medical and Economic Consequences

Public health and economic impact on the approximately 33 million people living in the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to numerous investigations.

These hazardous conditions results in increased incidence of neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and can result in malignancies.

Air quality crisis is calculated to be accounting for approximately 10k early deaths per year in Delhi.