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On Tuesday morning inhabitants of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with exposed to extremely polluted air that registered in the "alarming" level.

Alarming Pollution Readings

Several parts of Delhi showed an air quality index above 500, which equals a tenfold increase over the healthy limit recommended by the WHO.

In some locations, levels of PM2.5 and PM10 soared to of eighteen hundred, amounting to 15 to 20 times above safe standards.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and New Developments

Beginning in 2020, authorities had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the purchase and ignition of pyrotechnics during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the hazardous smog that blankets the city as the cold season approaches.

Yet in recent months, the newly elected local leadership appealed to the highest court to request a modification of the ban.

They proposed allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – historically criticized by conservation groups as being only approximately one-third lower impact – as a balance between "cultural practices and environment".

Court Decision and Reality

Despite concerns of public health and environmental campaigners, judges complied with the proposal, stipulating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be used during specific time windows throughout the celebrations.

Throughout the festival evening, there was widespread flouting of the regulated periods across the city, with insufficient enforcement regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly version.

Several recording stations throughout Delhi recorded contamination reaching highest levels around midnight to the most severe measurements recorded during celebrations in at least recent memory.

Regional Consequences

The widespread use of pyrotechnics during the celebrations also initiated a blame game with adjacent Pakistan, with officials in Pakistan's Punjab province partly blaming deteriorating air quality in Lahore on contaminants originating in neighboring India following the events.

Long-Standing Pollution Issue

Alarmingly severe concentrations of air contamination in Delhi have persisted as a significant issue for more than 15 years, with the situation gradually deteriorating.

During the festival period, the concentration of hazardous airborne contaminants in the environment has been documented to shoot up to significantly exceeding the worst records ever measured in Beijing, which was once considered as the globally most contaminated metropolis.

Multiple Pollution Sources

This crisis in the city is resulting from a combination of different contributors including transportation pollution, dust, building projects, rubbish burning and haze from crop residue ignition in adjacent areas of neighboring agricultural zones.

Within these states, farmers illegally burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, producing dangerous smog that remains stagnant over the city as cooler air arrives.

Health and Financial Impact

Both financial and medical impact on the approximately 33 million people living in the metropolitan zone is enormous, according to numerous studies.

These hazardous conditions leads to elevated rates of nervous system, heart and circulatory and respiratory conditions, and can potentially cause malignancies.

Air quality crisis is calculated to be responsible for approximately 10k untimely deaths each year in the city.