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As Tuesday dawned residents of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with breathing extremely polluted air that was classified as the "severe" range.

Extremely High Air Quality Readings

Several parts of Delhi showed an AQI exceeding 500, which represents 10x the healthy limit recommended by the WHO.

Particular areas, levels of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1,800, equating to 15 to 20 times above safe levels.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and New Policy Shifts

Since 2020, the government had enforced a complete ban on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during Diwali due to their substantial impact to the dangerous smog that covers the metropolis as winter sets in.

However recently, the recently formed local leadership petitioned the supreme court to seek a modification of the ban.

Officials advocated for allowing "green crackers" – historically doubted by environmentalists as being only roughly 30 percent reduced emissions – as a balance between "tradition and ecological concerns".

Court Decision and Implementation

To the disappointment of environmental and health advocates, judges approved the request, specifying that green firecrackers could be ignited during limited hours throughout the Diwali.

During the celebrations, there was widespread flouting of the time restrictions across the capital, with little enforcement regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Many recording stations throughout Delhi recorded pollution reaching highest levels around the night hours to some of the worst levels observed during the festival in at least the past three years.

Regional Effects

Extensive ignition of fireworks during Diwali also sparked a blame game with bordering Pakistan, with representatives in Pakistani Punjab province partially attributing declining air quality in the city of Lahore on contaminants traveling from across the border following the festivities.

Persistent Environmental Crisis

Extremely elevated readings of atmospheric toxins in the capital have persisted as a significant challenge for over a decade and a half, with the condition continuing to worsen.

During the festival period, the amount of hazardous particulate matter in the environment has been documented to shoot up to seventy percent above the peak readings ever documented in the Chinese city, which was formerly viewed as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Various Contamination Sources

The problem in the city is resulting from a convergence of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, airborne particles, development work, rubbish burning and pollutants from crop residue ignition in adjacent areas of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, farmers regularly burn crop residue to clear them quickly, creating hazardous pollution that becomes contained over the city as winter air arrives.

Health and Economic Consequences

The economic and health consequences on the nearly 33 million residents calling home the capital region is enormous, according to multiple investigations.

These hazardous conditions leads to elevated rates of neurological, heart and circulatory and lung conditions, and can even lead to cancer.

Air quality crisis is estimated to be causing approximately 10k early mortalities per year in Delhi.