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On Tuesday morning inhabitants of this heavily contaminated metropolis were faced with breathing extremely polluted air that registered in the "alarming" level.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Readings

Several parts of Delhi showed an pollution measurement above 500, which translates to ten times the healthy threshold set by the global health authority.

Particular areas, concentrations of toxic particulate matter reached peaks of eighteen hundred, amounting to 15-20x above acceptable limits.

Fireworks Ban and Recent Policy Shifts

For the past four years, authorities had enforced a total prohibition on the sale and use of firecrackers during Diwali due to their major role to the deadly smog that covers the metropolis as colder weather approaches.

Nevertheless recently, the newly elected city administration appealed to the supreme court to seek a relaxation of the ban.

Officials advocated for allowing "green crackers" – historically questioned by environmentalists as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a compromise between "cultural practices and environment".

Judicial Ruling and Enforcement

Much to the frustration of medical and ecological advocates, the court agreed to the request, stipulating that green firecrackers could be used during specific time windows throughout the celebrations.

On Monday night, there was considerable flouting of the regulated periods across the city, with minimal monitoring regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the more environmentally friendly version.

Many monitoring devices throughout the city showed pollution reaching highest levels around midnight to the most severe measurements recorded during Diwali in at least three years.

International Effects

The widespread use of pyrotechnics during the celebrations also triggered a blame game with neighbouring the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistan's the Punjab region pointing to deteriorating pollution levels in their urban centers on contaminants traveling from India following the celebrations.

Persistent Environmental Problem

Extremely elevated levels of pollution in Delhi have persisted as a major challenge for more than 15 years, with the situation continuing to worsen.

Around the festival period, the levels of toxic particles in the environment has been observed to spike to significantly exceeding the peak records ever measured in the Chinese city, which was formerly regarded as the world's most polluted city.

Multiple Contamination Factors

The problem in Delhi is attributed to a mix of various sources including transportation pollution, dust, construction activities, waste incineration and pollutants from farm burning in neighbouring areas of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, farmers regularly ignite agricultural waste to prepare for next season, creating hazardous haze that becomes contained over the metropolitan area as colder air sets in.

Medical and Financial Consequences

Public health and economic consequences on the nearly 33 million people calling home the metropolitan zone is enormous, according to multiple research.

The contaminated air causes high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, and can even lead to cancer.

The pollution is projected to be responsible for 10,000 untimely deaths per year in Delhi.