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Tuesday brought citizens of the world's most polluted city found themselves breathing extremely polluted air that fell into the "alarming" category.

Extremely High Pollution Readings

Various sections of the capital registered an air quality index above 500, which represents a tenfold increase over the healthy threshold established by the WHO.

Certain monitoring stations, levels of toxic particulate matter soared to of 1800, amounting to 15-20x higher than acceptable standards.

Firecracker Prohibition and Current Developments

For the past four years, the government had enforced a complete ban on the distribution and bursting of pyrotechnics during Diwali due to their substantial impact to the deadly smog that covers the metropolis as colder weather begins.

Nevertheless earlier this year, the newly elected city administration petitioned the supreme court to request a modification of the prohibition.

Officials advocated for allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – previously doubted by environmental experts as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and environment".

Judicial Verdict and Enforcement

Despite concerns of public health and environmental activists, the court approved the proposal, stipulating that green firecrackers could be set off during specific periods throughout the Diwali.

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

Many monitoring devices throughout the city recorded contamination reaching highest levels around the night hours to some of the worst levels seen during celebrations in at least recent memory.

Cross-Border Effects

The proliferation of pyrotechnics during the celebrations also sparked a dispute with bordering Pakistan, with officials in Pakistani the Punjab region partly blaming deteriorating atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on hazardous particles originating in India following the festivities.

Long-Standing Environmental Crisis

Extremely elevated concentrations of air contamination in the city have persisted as a serious challenge for fifteen-plus years, with the condition showing no improvement.

Near Diwali, the levels of hazardous particulate matter in the environment has been documented to shoot up to significantly exceeding the peak records ever recorded in the Chinese city, which was once viewed as the globally most contaminated city.

Multiple Pollution Sources

This crisis in Delhi is resulting from a combination of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, construction debris, construction activities, rubbish burning and haze from agricultural fires in adjacent states of neighboring agricultural zones.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers illegally burn crop residue to prepare for next season, creating hazardous pollution that remains stagnant over the city as winter air arrives.

Public Health and Economic Impact

Public health and economic impact on the roughly thirty-three million residents living in the metropolitan zone is enormous, according to various research.

These hazardous conditions results in elevated rates of nervous system, cardiovascular and breathing diseases, and can even lead to cancer.

The pollution is projected to be accounting for ten thousand untimely deaths per year in the capital.