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As Tuesday dawned citizens of the world's most polluted city were faced with breathing extremely polluted air that was classified as the "critical" range.

Extremely High Pollution Levels

Various sections of Delhi showed an pollution measurement exceeding 500, which equals a tenfold increase over the healthy limit set by the global health authority.

Particular areas, levels of toxic particulate matter reached peaks of eighteen hundred, representing 15-20x higher than acceptable limits.

Pyrotechnics Ban and New Developments

For the past four years, officials had implemented a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of pyrotechnics during Diwali due to their substantial impact to the deadly pollution that blankets the metropolis as winter begins.

Yet earlier this year, the recently formed city administration approached the judicial authority to request a modification of the prohibition.

The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – which have been doubted by environmental experts as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a balance between "tradition and environment".

Judicial Verdict and Reality

Much to the frustration of public health and environmental advocates, the court agreed to the appeal, stipulating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be ignited during limited hours throughout the celebrations.

During the celebrations, there was widespread flouting of the designated hours across the city, with insufficient monitoring regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Numerous monitoring devices throughout the capital showed air quality reaching highest levels around the night hours to some of the worst levels observed during Diwali in at least the past three years.

Cross-Border Consequences

Extensive ignition of pyrotechnics during Diwali also sparked a dispute with adjacent Pakistan, with representatives in Pakistan's Punjab pointing to worsening air quality in Lahore on pollutants coming from across the border following the events.

Chronic Pollution Problem

Alarmingly severe concentrations of atmospheric toxins in Delhi have continued as a significant problem for fifteen-plus years, with the problem continuing to worsen.

Around celebratory seasons, the concentration of hazardous particles in the environment has been observed to increase dramatically to seventy percent above the worst records ever measured in Beijing, which was formerly considered as the globally most contaminated metropolis.

Diverse Contamination Sources

This crisis in the city is caused by a combination of different contributors including transportation pollution, construction debris, building projects, rubbish burning and pollutants from agricultural fires in adjacent regions of Punjab and Haryana.

Within these states, farmers regularly burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, creating toxic haze that then gets trapped over the metropolitan area as colder air descends.

Medical and Economic Impact

Both financial and medical toll on the approximately 33 million residents residing in the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to numerous studies.

These hazardous conditions leads to elevated rates of neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, and can potentially cause cancer.

Air quality crisis is calculated to be responsible for 10,000 premature mortalities annually in Delhi.