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As Tuesday dawned residents of this heavily contaminated metropolis found themselves breathing dangerously toxic air that fell into the "severe" level.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Measurements

Several parts of the capital showed an AQI over 500, which represents 10x the healthy threshold established by the WHO.

In some locations, readings of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1800, representing 15-20x higher than safe standards.

Fireworks Restrictions and Current Policy Shifts

Since 2020, officials had enforced a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during celebrations due to their substantial impact to the deadly pollution that covers the city as the cold season sets in.

Nevertheless earlier this year, the recently formed city administration appealed to the highest court to propose a relaxation of the prohibition.

The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – previously criticized by environmentalists as being only roughly 30 percent lower impact – as a compromise between "tradition and public health".

Judicial Ruling and Enforcement

Despite concerns of public health and environmental campaigners, judges agreed to the proposal, specifying that green firecrackers could be ignited during specific periods throughout the Diwali.

On Monday night, there was widespread disregard of the regulated periods across the city, with minimal regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the more environmentally friendly type.

Many monitoring devices throughout the capital registered pollution reaching highest levels around late evening to the most severe readings recorded during celebrations in at least the past three years.

Cross-Border Effects

Extensive ignition of fireworks during the celebrations also initiated a controversy with adjacent the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab pointing to declining pollution levels in the city of Lahore on hazardous particles traveling from neighboring India following the celebrations.

Persistent Environmental Issue

Extremely elevated levels of atmospheric toxins in Delhi have remained as a major issue for over a decade and a half, with the condition continuing to worsen.

Near the festival period, the concentration of hazardous particles in the atmosphere has been documented to spike to seventy percent above the worst levels ever documented in the Chinese city, which was once viewed as the world's most polluted urban center.

Multiple Contamination Contributors

The problem in the city is attributed to a mix of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, construction debris, building projects, garbage fires and pollutants from crop residue ignition in adjacent states of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, rural residents routinely set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, producing toxic haze that becomes contained over the city as colder air sets in.

Health and Economic Toll

Public health and economic toll on the approximately 33 million residents residing in the metropolitan zone is enormous, according to multiple research.

The contaminated air results in increased incidence of neurological, heart and circulatory and breathing conditions, and can even lead to malignancies.

Air quality crisis is projected to be responsible for ten thousand early fatalities per year in Delhi.