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On Tuesday morning inhabitants of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with exposed to severely hazardous air that registered in the "severe" level.

Alarming Pollution Readings

Several parts of the city registered an air quality index exceeding 500, which translates to 10x the recommended level recommended by the global health authority.

Certain monitoring stations, levels of dangerous airborne particles hit highs of 1800, amounting to 15-20x higher than healthy standards.

Pyrotechnics Restrictions and Recent Developments

For the past four years, authorities had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during celebrations due to their major role to the deadly pollution that blankets the capital as winter approaches.

Yet in recent months, the current regional leadership petitioned the judicial authority to propose a easing of the restrictions.

Officials advocated for allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – previously criticized by conservation groups as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a compromise between "heritage and public health".

Judicial Ruling and Implementation

Much to the frustration of environmental and health activists, the court agreed to the request, specifying that green firecrackers could be ignited during specific time windows throughout the celebrations.

During the celebrations, there was considerable flouting of the designated hours across the metropolis, with minimal regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the more environmentally friendly variety.

Several recording stations throughout the city showed air quality peaking around late evening to extremely hazardous readings recorded during Diwali in at least three years.

Regional Implications

The widespread use of pyrotechnics during the celebrations also initiated a blame game with bordering Pakistan, with officials in Pakistan's the Punjab region partially attributing worsening atmospheric conditions in the city of Lahore on contaminants originating in India following the events.

Long-Standing Environmental Crisis

Alarmingly severe concentrations of pollution in the city have continued as a major issue for fifteen-plus years, with the problem gradually deteriorating.

Near the festival period, the amount of hazardous airborne contaminants in the air has been documented to spike to significantly exceeding the most severe records ever documented in the Chinese city, which was previously considered as the planet's dirtiest city.

Diverse Pollution Contributors

The problem in the capital is resulting from a mix of multiple factors including heavy vehicle emissions, construction debris, building projects, waste incineration and pollutants from farm burning in nearby areas of neighboring agricultural zones.

Within these states, agricultural workers illegally set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, producing dangerous smog that remains stagnant over the city as cooler air descends.

Public Health and Economic Toll

Public health and economic consequences on the nearly 33 million residents calling home the Delhi area is significant, according to various studies.

This pollution leads to high levels of neurological, cardiovascular and breathing conditions, and can potentially cause malignancies.

Environmental contamination is calculated to be accounting for approximately 10k untimely deaths annually in Delhi.