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As Tuesday dawned inhabitants of the world's most polluted city were faced with inhaling severely hazardous air that fell into the "critical" category.

Extremely High Air Quality Readings

Several parts of the city registered an air quality index over 500, which translates to 10x the recommended level recommended by the global health authority.

Certain monitoring stations, concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 reached peaks of eighteen hundred, equating to 15-20x higher than safe standards.

Fireworks Prohibition and Recent Developments

For the past four years, officials had enforced a complete ban on the purchase and ignition of firecrackers during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the dangerous smog that covers the capital as the cold season approaches.

Yet recently, the newly elected city administration appealed to the supreme court to request a relaxation of the prohibition.

The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – historically questioned by environmentalists as being only about 30% less polluting – as a compromise between "tradition and environment".

Court Verdict and Implementation

Much to the frustration of environmental and health advocates, the court complied with the request, mandating that green firecrackers could be set off during limited time windows throughout the festival.

On Monday night, there was widespread disregard of the time restrictions across the capital, with little enforcement regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Numerous recording stations throughout the city recorded contamination peaking around late evening to extremely hazardous readings seen during Diwali in at least three years.

International Implications

The proliferation of firecrackers during Diwali also triggered a blame game with neighbouring Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistan's the Punjab region partly blaming declining pollution levels in their urban centers on contaminants traveling from India following the festivities.

Persistent Environmental Issue

Extremely elevated readings of atmospheric toxins in the capital have continued as a significant issue for more than 15 years, with the condition showing no improvement.

Around celebratory seasons, the amount of toxic airborne contaminants in the air has been found to increase dramatically to 70% higher the worst readings ever measured in the Chinese city, which was once considered as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Various Contamination Sources

This crisis in the capital is resulting from a convergence of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, construction debris, construction activities, waste incineration and smoke from agricultural fires in adjacent areas of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, rural residents routinely burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, generating dangerous smog that remains stagnant over the metropolitan area as cooler air arrives.

Health and Economic Toll

Both financial and medical impact on the nearly 33 million inhabitants residing in the Delhi area is substantial, according to numerous research.

These hazardous conditions results in high levels of neurological, cardiovascular and lung disorders, and can result in malignancies.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be responsible for 10,000 premature fatalities per year in the capital.