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On Tuesday morning citizens of the world's most polluted city were faced with inhaling extremely polluted air that was classified as the "severe" category.

Alarming Air Quality Readings

Several parts of Delhi registered an air quality index exceeding 500, which equals ten times the safe level recommended by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, readings of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of eighteen hundred, representing fifteen to twenty times above safe levels.

Fireworks Restrictions and Recent Policy Shifts

For the past four years, authorities had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of firecrackers during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the deadly haze that blankets the city as colder weather begins.

However in recent months, the newly elected city leadership appealed to the highest court to propose a easing of the ban.

Officials advocated for allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – which have been doubted by conservation groups as being only approximately one-third reduced emissions – as a middle ground between "tradition and public health".

Court Decision and Reality

Much to the frustration of environmental and health campaigners, judges agreed to the appeal, specifying that green firecrackers could be ignited during specific periods throughout the celebrations.

On Monday night, there was widespread violation of the regulated periods across the capital, with little regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener type.

Numerous monitoring devices throughout Delhi registered air quality peaking around the night hours to the most severe measurements recorded during celebrations in at least recent memory.

Cross-Border Consequences

The widespread use of firecrackers during the festival also triggered a blame game with neighbouring Pakistan, with officials in Pakistan's the Punjab region pointing to worsening pollution levels in their urban centers on hazardous particles originating in across the border following the events.

Long-Standing Environmental Problem

Alarmingly severe concentrations of pollution in Delhi have continued as a major issue for over a decade and a half, with the situation showing no improvement.

Around celebratory seasons, the amount of toxic particles in the air has been observed to spike to seventy percent above the most severe readings ever documented in Beijing, which was formerly considered as the planet's dirtiest city.

Various Pollution Factors

This crisis in Delhi is caused by a convergence of different contributors including automobile exhaust, dust, development work, waste incineration and pollutants from crop residue ignition in nearby regions of Punjab and Haryana.

In these regions, farmers regularly burn crop residue to prepare for next season, producing dangerous haze that then gets trapped over the city as colder air descends.

Public Health and Economic Impact

The economic and health consequences on the roughly thirty-three million residents living in the Delhi area is substantial, according to multiple investigations.

This pollution results in high levels of neurological, cardiovascular and breathing disorders, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

Air quality crisis is projected to be responsible for approximately 10k early mortalities each year in the city.