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As Tuesday dawned citizens of this heavily contaminated metropolis were faced with breathing dangerously toxic air that fell into the "alarming" level.

Alarming Pollution Measurements

Several parts of the city recorded an air quality index over 500, which equals 10x the recommended limit established by the global health authority.

In some locations, concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 reached peaks of 1,800, representing 15 to 20 times above healthy standards.

Firecracker Prohibition and Recent Changes

For the past four years, officials had implemented a complete ban on the purchase and ignition of pyrotechnics during celebrations due to their substantial impact to the dangerous pollution that engulfs the city as colder weather sets in.

Nevertheless in recent months, the recently formed regional government approached the supreme court to request a relaxation of the prohibition.

They proposed allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – historically criticized by environmentalists as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a compromise between "cultural practices and public health".

Judicial Decision and Implementation

To the disappointment of public health and environmental advocates, the court agreed to the appeal, mandating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be used during designated hours throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was widespread disregard of the time restrictions across the metropolis, with little enforcement regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the eco-friendly type.

Many monitoring devices throughout Delhi recorded pollution peaking around the night hours to extremely hazardous levels recorded during Diwali in at least the past three years.

International Consequences

The proliferation of pyrotechnics during Diwali also sparked a blame game with adjacent Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistan's the Punjab region partially attributing declining atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on pollutants originating in neighboring India following the celebrations.

Long-Standing Pollution Issue

The dangerously high readings of air contamination in the capital have persisted as a major challenge for over a decade and a half, with the condition continuing to worsen.

Near Diwali, the concentration of toxic particulate matter in the environment has been found to spike to significantly exceeding the peak levels ever recorded in the Chinese city, which was once regarded as the planet's dirtiest metropolis.

Various Pollution Sources

This crisis in Delhi is attributed to a mix of different contributors including transportation pollution, dust, construction activities, waste incineration and pollutants from farm burning in neighbouring areas of farming communities.

In these regions, rural residents routinely set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, producing toxic pollution that then gets trapped over the capital as colder air sets in.

Public Health and Financial Toll

The economic and health toll on the nearly 33 million people living in the Delhi area is substantial, according to numerous research.

These hazardous conditions results in high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and breathing conditions, and can result in oncological diseases.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be causing approximately 10k premature deaths each year in the capital.