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As Tuesday dawned inhabitants of the world's most polluted city were faced with breathing extremely polluted air that registered in the "severe" category.

Extremely High Pollution Measurements

Multiple areas of Delhi registered an pollution measurement above 500, which translates to ten times the safe level recommended by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, concentrations of toxic particulate matter reached peaks of 1,800, amounting to fifteen to twenty times above safe standards.

Fireworks Ban and New Changes

For the past four years, the government had maintained a total prohibition on the purchase and ignition of firecrackers during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the deadly haze that blankets the metropolis as colder weather approaches.

However earlier this year, the newly elected local government appealed to the judicial authority to seek a modification of the prohibition.

Officials advocated for allowing "green crackers" – previously criticized by conservation groups as being only about 30% lower impact – as a middle ground between "tradition and environment".

Court Decision and Implementation

Despite concerns of environmental and health campaigners, the court approved the proposal, stipulating that green firecrackers could be ignited during limited time windows throughout the celebrations.

On Monday night, there was considerable violation of the designated hours across the metropolis, with little enforcement regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Many monitoring devices throughout Delhi showed air quality reaching highest levels around the night hours to extremely hazardous readings seen during the festival in at least recent memory.

Regional Consequences

The proliferation of fireworks during the festival also sparked a dispute with bordering Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistan's the Punjab region partly blaming worsening pollution levels in the city of Lahore on contaminants traveling from neighboring India following the festivities.

Chronic Environmental Problem

Alarmingly severe readings of atmospheric toxins in the capital have continued as a major problem for over a decade and a half, with the problem gradually deteriorating.

During the festival period, the concentration of dangerous airborne contaminants in the air has been observed to spike to 70% higher the peak records ever documented in China's capital, which was formerly viewed as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Various Pollution Factors

This crisis in the capital is resulting from a combination of various sources including automobile exhaust, airborne particles, development work, garbage fires and smoke from crop residue ignition in adjacent regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, rural residents routinely ignite agricultural waste to expedite field preparation, generating toxic smog that becomes contained over the metropolitan area as cooler air sets in.

Public Health and Financial Toll

Public health and economic impact on the roughly thirty-three million residents residing in the metropolitan zone is enormous, according to numerous investigations.

These hazardous conditions leads to increased incidence of neurological, cardiovascular and breathing conditions, and can even lead to cancer.

Environmental contamination is projected to be accounting for ten thousand untimely fatalities each year in Delhi.