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As Tuesday dawned inhabitants of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with inhaling dangerously toxic air that registered in the "alarming" level.

Record-Breaking Pollution Levels

Various sections of Delhi showed an AQI exceeding 500, which represents 10x the safe threshold recommended by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, concentrations of toxic particulate matter hit highs of eighteen hundred, amounting to 15 to 20 times higher than healthy limits.

Firecracker Prohibition and New Developments

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 significant contribution to the hazardous pollution that blankets the city as the cold season sets in.

Nevertheless earlier this year, the current regional leadership approached the judicial authority to propose a modification of the restrictions.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – previously criticized by environmental experts as being only roughly 30 percent reduced emissions – as a compromise between "tradition and public health".

Judicial Ruling and Reality

Much to the frustration of environmental and health activists, judges agreed to the request, specifying that green firecrackers could be ignited during designated hours throughout the festival.

During the celebrations, there was considerable disregard of the regulated periods across the city, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Many recording stations throughout Delhi registered air quality peaking around midnight to some of the worst readings observed during Diwali in at least three years.

Cross-Border Effects

The proliferation of pyrotechnics during Diwali also triggered a blame game with bordering the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistan's the Punjab region partially attributing declining atmospheric conditions in Lahore on hazardous particles traveling from India following the events.

Long-Standing Pollution Problem

Extremely elevated levels of pollution in the city have persisted as a major problem for over a decade and a half, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

Around Diwali, the amount of hazardous particulate matter in the environment has been documented to spike to significantly exceeding the most severe records ever measured in the Chinese city, which was once considered as the planet's dirtiest city.

Multiple Pollution Contributors

The situation in the city is caused by a mix of different contributors including automobile exhaust, construction debris, construction activities, garbage fires and haze from crop residue ignition in adjacent areas of neighboring agricultural zones.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers illegally ignite agricultural waste to expedite field preparation, producing hazardous haze that then gets trapped over the city as colder air arrives.

Medical and Economic Consequences

The economic and health toll on the roughly thirty-three million people residing in the capital region is enormous, according to multiple research.

These hazardous conditions results in increased incidence of neurological, heart and circulatory and lung disorders, and can potentially cause malignancies.

Air quality crisis is projected to be causing 10,000 early fatalities each year in Delhi.