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On Tuesday morning inhabitants of this heavily contaminated metropolis were faced with inhaling severely hazardous air that fell into the "critical" category.

Extremely High Air Quality Measurements

Various sections of the capital registered an pollution measurement exceeding 500, which represents ten times the safe threshold established by the WHO.

Particular areas, concentrations of toxic particulate matter reached peaks of 1800, representing 15 to 20 times above acceptable levels.

Firecracker Prohibition and Recent Changes

For the past four years, officials had enforced a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of pyrotechnics during Diwali due to their substantial impact to the dangerous pollution that blankets the metropolis as colder weather begins.

Nevertheless earlier this year, the current regional leadership appealed to the highest court to request a relaxation of the prohibition.

Officials advocated for allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – which have been questioned by conservation groups as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a balance between "cultural practices and environment".

Judicial Verdict and Enforcement

Despite concerns of environmental and health activists, the court agreed to the proposal, mandating that green firecrackers could be ignited during designated time windows throughout the Diwali.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable flouting of the designated hours across the metropolis, with insufficient enforcement regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the eco-friendly variety.

Several recording stations throughout Delhi registered contamination reaching highest levels around the night hours to extremely hazardous readings recorded during the festival in at least recent memory.

Regional Effects

The widespread use of fireworks during Diwali also sparked a controversy with neighbouring the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistani Punjab province partially attributing worsening pollution levels in the city of Lahore on contaminants coming from India following the events.

Persistent Pollution Crisis

Extremely elevated levels of pollution in the capital have remained as a major challenge for over a decade and a half, with the problem gradually deteriorating.

During the festival period, the levels of dangerous particles in the environment has been documented to spike to significantly exceeding the most severe levels ever recorded in China's capital, which was formerly considered as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Various Pollution Factors

This crisis in the capital is caused by a convergence of different contributors including transportation pollution, dust, construction activities, rubbish burning and pollutants from farm burning in adjacent areas of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, farmers regularly set their fields on fire to clear them quickly, producing dangerous smog that becomes contained over the metropolitan area as colder air arrives.

Health and Financial Toll

Public health and economic consequences on the roughly thirty-three million residents residing in the Delhi area is substantial, according to multiple studies.

This pollution results in increased incidence of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing disorders, and can result in cancer.

The pollution is calculated to be accounting for 10,000 early mortalities per year in Delhi.