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Tuesday brought citizens of the world's most polluted city encountered exposed to severely hazardous air that fell into the "alarming" range.

Extremely High Air Quality Readings

Various sections of the city showed an AQI over 500, which equals 10x the safe threshold set by the World Health Organization.

Certain monitoring stations, readings of PM2.5 and PM10 hit highs of 1,800, representing fifteen to twenty times higher than safe levels.

Firecracker Restrictions and Current Developments

For the past four years, authorities had implemented a comprehensive restriction on the purchase and ignition of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the deadly pollution that covers the metropolis as colder weather approaches.

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

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – which have been questioned by environmental experts as being only about 30% lower impact – as a balance between "tradition and ecological concerns".

Court Decision and Implementation

To the disappointment of environmental and health advocates, judicial authorities agreed to the appeal, mandating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be set off during limited time windows throughout the festival.

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

Numerous monitoring devices throughout the capital recorded air quality reaching highest levels around the night hours to the most severe levels seen during Diwali in at least the past three years.

International Implications

Extensive ignition of firecrackers during Diwali also triggered a dispute with bordering the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistan's the Punjab region partially attributing worsening pollution levels in the city of Lahore on hazardous particles traveling from India following the festivities.

Persistent Environmental Issue

Alarmingly severe readings of air contamination in the capital have remained as a major problem for over a decade and a half, with the problem showing no improvement.

During the festival period, the amount of toxic particles in the air has been found to shoot up to seventy percent above the peak readings ever recorded in Beijing, which was formerly viewed as the globally most contaminated urban center.

Various Pollution Sources

The problem in the city is attributed to a combination of multiple factors including transportation pollution, construction debris, development work, rubbish burning and pollutants from agricultural fires in nearby areas of Punjab and Haryana.

In these regions, rural residents routinely burn crop residue to clear them quickly, creating hazardous pollution that remains stagnant over the city as cooler air descends.

Public Health and Economic Impact

Both financial and medical consequences on the approximately 33 million residents residing in the Delhi area is significant, according to numerous studies.

This pollution results in increased incidence of neurological, cardiovascular and lung conditions, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

The pollution is calculated to be causing 10,000 untimely mortalities per year in the capital.