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On Tuesday morning inhabitants of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves exposed to dangerously toxic air that fell into the "severe" category.

Extremely High Pollution Readings

Several parts of the city registered an air quality index above 500, which represents ten times the recommended level set by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, readings of toxic particulate matter soared to of eighteen hundred, representing fifteen to twenty times above safe standards.

Pyrotechnics Restrictions and Recent Developments

For the past four years, the government had maintained a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during Diwali due to their significant contribution to the deadly smog that covers the capital as winter sets in.

However earlier this year, the newly elected regional administration petitioned the supreme court to seek a modification of the restrictions.

They proposed allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – previously doubted by environmental experts as being only approximately one-third less polluting – as a balance between "tradition and ecological concerns".

Court Verdict and Enforcement

To the disappointment of environmental and health campaigners, judicial authorities complied with the proposal, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be ignited during specific periods throughout the Diwali.

Throughout the festival evening, there was extensive violation of the time restrictions across the city, with insufficient monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly type.

Several air quality sensors throughout the capital registered pollution spiking around the night hours to extremely hazardous levels seen during the festival in at least three years.

Regional Consequences

Extensive ignition of pyrotechnics during the festival also sparked a dispute with adjacent Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistani Punjab province pointing to deteriorating pollution levels in their urban centers on pollutants originating in India following the festivities.

Chronic Pollution Crisis

Extremely elevated readings of pollution in the capital have continued as a major problem for fifteen-plus years, with the situation showing no improvement.

During Diwali, the amount of toxic airborne contaminants in the air has been found to spike to 70% higher the worst records ever measured in China's capital, which was once considered as the world's most polluted urban center.

Various Pollution Contributors

The problem in Delhi is resulting from a combination of different contributors including automobile exhaust, dust, building projects, waste incineration and pollutants from farm burning in adjacent states of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, farmers regularly set their fields on fire to clear them quickly, producing dangerous pollution that remains stagnant over the metropolitan area as colder air descends.

Health and Economic Toll

Public health and economic consequences on the nearly 33 million people calling home the capital region is significant, according to multiple investigations.

This pollution causes elevated rates of neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and can result in malignancies.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be causing 10,000 early deaths each year in the city.