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Tuesday brought inhabitants of this heavily contaminated metropolis found themselves breathing extremely polluted air that was classified as the "critical" range.

Extremely High Air Quality Readings

Several parts of the city showed an AQI exceeding 500, which translates to a tenfold increase over the recommended limit set by the WHO.

In some locations, readings of dangerous airborne particles hit highs of 1800, amounting to 15 to 20 times above acceptable levels.

Fireworks Restrictions and Recent Developments

For the past four years, authorities had implemented a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of pyrotechnics during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the hazardous haze that engulfs the metropolis as winter sets in.

Yet in recent months, the newly elected local leadership petitioned the highest court to seek a easing of the restrictions.

The suggestion was allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – which have been criticized by environmental experts as being only approximately one-third lower impact – as a compromise between "heritage and public health".

Judicial Decision and Implementation

Despite concerns of public health and environmental campaigners, the court approved the proposal, stipulating that green firecrackers could be used during specific hours throughout the Diwali.

On Monday night, there was considerable disregard of the designated hours across the metropolis, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the more environmentally friendly type.

Many recording stations throughout the capital showed pollution spiking around late evening to extremely hazardous readings seen during the festival in at least three years.

International Consequences

The proliferation of fireworks during the festival also sparked a controversy with neighbouring the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistani Punjab province pointing to deteriorating air quality in Lahore on pollutants traveling from India following the celebrations.

Long-Standing Environmental Problem

The dangerously high levels of air contamination in the capital have remained as a significant challenge for more than 15 years, with the problem continuing to worsen.

During celebratory seasons, the concentration of dangerous particulate matter in the environment has been observed to shoot up to seventy percent above the worst levels ever measured in Beijing, which was previously considered as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Diverse Pollution Factors

The situation in Delhi is caused by a convergence of different contributors including transportation pollution, dust, construction activities, garbage fires and haze from crop residue ignition in nearby regions of Punjab and Haryana.

Within these states, rural residents routinely ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, generating dangerous smog that becomes contained over the city as colder air descends.

Medical and Economic Consequences

The economic and health impact on the nearly 33 million people living in the capital region is enormous, according to numerous investigations.

The contaminated air causes high levels of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing diseases, and can result in malignancies.

Air quality crisis is estimated to be responsible for 10,000 untimely deaths annually in the capital.