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On Tuesday morning residents of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves breathing extremely polluted air that fell into the "alarming" range.

Extremely High Pollution Measurements

Various sections of the city showed an AQI above 500, which translates to 10x the safe level recommended by the World Health Organization.

Certain monitoring stations, levels of toxic particulate matter reached peaks of 1,800, representing fifteen to twenty times higher than acceptable standards.

Fireworks Restrictions and Recent Changes

For the past four years, officials had maintained a total prohibition on the purchase and ignition of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the deadly smog that covers the city as colder weather sets in.

Nevertheless recently, the current local administration approached the judicial authority to request a easing of the restrictions.

Officials advocated for allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – previously questioned by environmentalists as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a middle ground between "tradition and ecological concerns".

Court Verdict and Enforcement

To the disappointment of public health and environmental advocates, the court agreed to the request, mandating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be used during specific hours throughout the Diwali.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable disregard of the designated hours across the capital, with insufficient enforcement regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the more environmentally friendly version.

Numerous recording stations throughout the capital showed air quality peaking around midnight to some of the worst readings seen during celebrations in at least recent memory.

International Consequences

The widespread use of fireworks during the celebrations also sparked a blame game with bordering the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistani Punjab province partly blaming worsening pollution levels in Lahore on contaminants traveling from India following the celebrations.

Chronic Pollution Issue

The dangerously high concentrations of atmospheric toxins in the city have remained as a serious challenge for fifteen-plus years, with the condition showing no improvement.

Near celebratory seasons, the levels of dangerous particles in the atmosphere has been found to spike to significantly exceeding the most severe readings ever measured in China's capital, which was formerly considered as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Various Contamination Contributors

The problem in the city is caused by a convergence of various sources including automobile exhaust, airborne particles, development work, rubbish burning and haze from crop residue ignition in adjacent areas of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers illegally ignite agricultural waste to expedite field preparation, producing hazardous smog that becomes contained over the capital as colder air arrives.

Public Health and Financial Toll

Both financial and medical consequences on the nearly 33 million inhabitants calling home the Delhi area is enormous, according to multiple investigations.

The contaminated air causes high levels of nervous system, heart and circulatory and lung diseases, and can result in malignancies.

Environmental contamination is calculated to be accounting for approximately 10k premature deaths per year in Delhi.