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Tuesday brought citizens of the world's most polluted city found themselves breathing dangerously toxic air that registered in the "critical" category.

Alarming Air Quality Readings

Various sections of Delhi registered an AQI over 500, which represents ten times the healthy threshold recommended by the WHO.

In some locations, concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 reached peaks of 1,800, equating to fifteen to twenty times higher than safe limits.

Fireworks Ban and Recent Policy Shifts

For the past four years, officials had enforced a total prohibition on the purchase and ignition of firecrackers during celebrations due to their substantial impact to the hazardous smog that engulfs the city as the cold season sets in.

Yet earlier this year, the newly elected regional administration appealed to the highest court to propose a easing of the prohibition.

The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – previously criticized by environmentalists as being only approximately one-third lower impact – as a compromise between "heritage and ecological concerns".

Legal Verdict and Enforcement

Despite concerns of medical and ecological activists, the court agreed to the appeal, specifying that environmentally conscious fireworks could be ignited during designated hours throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was widespread flouting of the designated hours across the capital, with little monitoring regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the more environmentally friendly version.

Numerous recording stations throughout the city registered contamination peaking around midnight to extremely hazardous levels seen during the festival in at least recent memory.

Regional Effects

The widespread use of fireworks during the festival also triggered a controversy with bordering the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistani the Punjab region pointing to declining atmospheric conditions in Lahore on contaminants coming from India following the festivities.

Long-Standing Pollution Crisis

Alarmingly severe concentrations of air contamination in the capital have persisted as a significant problem for fifteen-plus years, with the condition continuing to worsen.

Near celebratory seasons, the levels of dangerous particulate matter in the environment has been documented to shoot up to 70% higher the most severe records ever recorded in Beijing, which was previously viewed as the globally most contaminated metropolis.

Various Contamination Factors

The problem in the capital is caused by a combination of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, construction debris, development work, rubbish burning and pollutants from agricultural fires in neighbouring states of farming communities.

In these regions, agricultural workers illegally burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, generating toxic pollution that then gets trapped over the capital as colder air descends.

Public Health and Economic Toll

Public health and economic consequences on the nearly 33 million people residing in the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to numerous research.

These hazardous conditions leads to high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and breathing diseases, and can potentially cause cancer.

Air quality crisis is projected to be responsible for ten thousand early fatalities annually in the capital.