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As Tuesday dawned residents of this heavily contaminated metropolis encountered breathing severely hazardous air that was classified as the "severe" level.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Readings

Various sections of Delhi registered an AQI over 500, which equals 10x the healthy level recommended by the WHO.

Certain monitoring stations, readings of PM2.5 and PM10 reached peaks of eighteen hundred, amounting to fifteen to twenty times higher than safe limits.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and New Developments

Beginning in 2020, the government had enforced a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their significant contribution to the dangerous haze that blankets the city as the cold season approaches.

Nevertheless earlier this year, the recently formed local leadership approached the judicial authority to request a easing of the prohibition.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – which have been doubted by conservation groups as being only approximately one-third lower impact – as a balance between "cultural practices and ecological concerns".

Court Decision and Enforcement

Much to the frustration of medical and ecological campaigners, judicial authorities approved the proposal, mandating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be set off during designated time windows throughout the festival.

During the celebrations, there was extensive disregard of the time restrictions across the capital, with insufficient enforcement regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Several air quality sensors throughout the city showed pollution spiking around midnight to some of the worst measurements seen during the festival in at least three years.

Cross-Border Consequences

The widespread use of pyrotechnics during the celebrations also triggered a dispute with neighbouring the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistani Punjab province partially attributing deteriorating atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on contaminants originating in neighboring India following the festivities.

Chronic Pollution Issue

Alarmingly severe concentrations of air contamination in the city have remained as a major issue for fifteen-plus years, with the condition showing no improvement.

Around celebratory seasons, the amount of hazardous particulate matter in the air has been documented to spike to 70% higher the worst readings ever measured in the Chinese city, which was previously regarded as the globally most contaminated city.

Multiple Contamination Sources

The situation in the capital is caused by a combination of various sources including transportation pollution, dust, development work, rubbish burning and smoke from crop residue ignition in neighbouring states of farming communities.

Within these states, rural residents illegally burn crop residue to prepare for next season, producing toxic haze that then gets trapped over the metropolitan area as cooler air sets in.

Medical and Economic Toll

Public health and economic impact on the approximately 33 million people calling home the capital region is significant, according to numerous investigations.

These hazardous conditions results in high levels of neurological, cardiovascular and breathing conditions, and can potentially cause malignancies.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be responsible for ten thousand early deaths each year in the capital.