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On Tuesday morning residents of this heavily contaminated metropolis encountered breathing severely hazardous air that was classified as the "critical" category.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Levels

Several parts of the capital recorded an AQI exceeding 500, which represents a tenfold increase over the healthy level set by the global health authority.

Particular areas, concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 hit highs of 1,800, representing fifteen to twenty times higher than acceptable levels.

Fireworks Prohibition and Recent Changes

Beginning in 2020, the government had maintained a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their significant contribution to the dangerous haze that engulfs the capital as colder weather sets in.

Yet earlier this year, the recently formed regional administration approached the judicial authority to propose a modification of the prohibition.

Officials advocated for allowing "green crackers" – previously questioned by environmental experts as being only approximately one-third less polluting – as a compromise between "cultural practices and ecological concerns".

Court Decision and Implementation

To the disappointment of public health and environmental activists, judges complied with the proposal, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be used during limited periods throughout the festival.

During the celebrations, there was considerable disregard of the time restrictions across the capital, with little enforcement regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the eco-friendly type.

Several air quality sensors throughout Delhi showed contamination spiking around midnight to extremely hazardous levels recorded during celebrations in at least three years.

Cross-Border Implications

Extensive ignition of fireworks during the festival also sparked a dispute with neighbouring Pakistan, with officials in Pakistani Punjab province pointing to declining pollution levels in the city of Lahore on hazardous particles originating in across the border following the events.

Chronic Environmental Issue

The dangerously high levels of atmospheric toxins in the capital have remained as a serious challenge for over a decade and a half, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

Near the festival period, the levels of toxic particles in the atmosphere has been observed to increase dramatically to 70% higher the peak records ever measured in China's capital, which was once regarded as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Multiple Contamination Contributors

This crisis in the city is caused by a convergence of different contributors including automobile exhaust, construction debris, building projects, garbage fires and smoke from agricultural fires in neighbouring regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, rural residents routinely burn crop residue to clear them quickly, generating toxic haze that becomes contained over the city as winter air arrives.

Public Health and Financial Toll

Both financial and medical impact on the approximately 33 million people living in the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to various research.

This pollution causes high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and breathing diseases, and can even lead to cancer.

The pollution is estimated to be accounting for 10,000 premature deaths per year in the capital.