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As Tuesday dawned citizens of this heavily contaminated metropolis were faced with breathing severely hazardous air that was classified as the "critical" range.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Measurements

Multiple areas of Delhi showed an air quality index exceeding 500, which equals 10x the safe limit established by the WHO.

Certain monitoring stations, levels of PM2.5 and PM10 hit highs of 1800, equating to 15 to 20 times above healthy limits.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and Recent Policy Shifts

For the past four years, authorities had enforced a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of firecrackers during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the hazardous haze that covers the metropolis as the cold season sets in.

However in recent months, the current regional government appealed to the judicial authority to request a modification of the restrictions.

The suggestion was allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – which have been questioned by environmental experts as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and environment".

Legal Ruling and Enforcement

To the disappointment of environmental and health activists, judicial authorities agreed to the request, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be used during designated hours throughout the celebrations.

During the celebrations, there was extensive flouting of the time restrictions across the metropolis, with little monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Numerous recording stations throughout Delhi registered contamination reaching highest levels around the night hours to the most severe levels seen during the festival in at least three years.

International Implications

Extensive ignition of pyrotechnics during the celebrations also triggered a controversy with bordering the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistani Punjab province partially attributing deteriorating pollution levels in the city of Lahore on contaminants traveling from neighboring India following the events.

Persistent Environmental Crisis

Extremely elevated readings of atmospheric toxins in the capital have remained as a significant problem for more than 15 years, with the situation continuing to worsen.

Around the festival period, the amount of toxic particles in the atmosphere has been found to spike to seventy percent above the most severe records ever recorded in China's capital, which was once considered as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Various Contamination Contributors

The problem in Delhi is caused by a convergence of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, construction debris, development work, rubbish burning and pollutants from crop residue ignition in adjacent regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers illegally ignite agricultural waste to expedite field preparation, producing toxic pollution that remains stagnant over the city as colder air sets in.

Health and Economic Impact

The economic and health impact on the approximately 33 million inhabitants living in the capital region is substantial, according to multiple research.

The contaminated air results in elevated rates of nervous system, cardiovascular and breathing diseases, and can even lead to cancer.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be responsible for 10,000 untimely mortalities per year in the capital.