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On Tuesday morning citizens of the world's most polluted city encountered exposed to extremely polluted air that was classified as the "alarming" level.

Extremely High Air Quality Readings

Multiple areas of the city registered an AQI above 500, which represents a tenfold increase over the recommended threshold set by the WHO.

Particular areas, readings of toxic particulate matter soared to of 1800, equating to fifteen to twenty times exceeding healthy limits.

Fireworks Ban and Recent Changes

For the past four years, authorities had implemented a complete ban on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the hazardous smog that covers the city as colder weather approaches.

Yet recently, the recently formed city leadership appealed to the highest court to propose a modification of the restrictions.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – previously doubted by environmentalists as being only roughly 30 percent reduced emissions – as a balance between "tradition and ecological concerns".

Judicial Decision and Reality

To the disappointment of environmental and health advocates, judges agreed to the proposal, mandating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be ignited during specific hours throughout the celebrations.

On Monday night, there was extensive violation of the regulated periods across the capital, with little monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly version.

Many recording stations throughout the city recorded pollution reaching highest levels around the night hours to the most severe readings observed during Diwali in at least the past three years.

Regional Effects

The widespread use of firecrackers during the celebrations also initiated a controversy with adjacent Pakistan, with officials in Pakistan's Punjab partly blaming declining atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on hazardous particles traveling from India following the events.

Persistent Pollution Problem

Extremely elevated concentrations of air contamination in Delhi have remained as a significant problem for fifteen-plus years, with the situation showing no improvement.

Near the festival period, the concentration of dangerous particulate matter in the environment has been found to shoot up to 70% higher the peak readings ever documented in China's capital, which was formerly considered as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Multiple Pollution Factors

The problem in the city is resulting from a mix of various sources including automobile exhaust, construction debris, development work, waste incineration and smoke from agricultural fires in neighbouring regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers regularly set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, producing hazardous pollution that remains stagnant over the metropolitan area as winter air arrives.

Medical and Economic Impact

Both financial and medical impact on the nearly 33 million inhabitants living in the metropolitan zone is enormous, according to numerous studies.

The contaminated air causes increased incidence of neurological, heart and circulatory and lung conditions, and can potentially cause cancer.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be responsible for approximately 10k untimely deaths each year in Delhi.