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Tuesday brought residents of the world's most polluted city were faced with breathing extremely polluted air that registered in the "alarming" category.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Levels

Several parts of the city recorded an AQI above 500, which equals ten times the recommended threshold set by the global health authority.

Particular areas, levels of PM2.5 and PM10 hit highs of 1800, amounting to fifteen to twenty times exceeding healthy levels.

Firecracker Ban and Recent Policy Shifts

For the past four years, authorities had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of firecrackers during celebrations due to their major role to the deadly smog that covers the capital as colder weather sets in.

However in recent months, the recently formed regional leadership appealed to the supreme court to seek a relaxation of the prohibition.

They proposed allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – historically questioned by environmental experts as being only about 30% less polluting – as a compromise between "cultural practices and ecological concerns".

Judicial Ruling and Reality

To the disappointment of medical and ecological activists, judges agreed to the appeal, mandating that green firecrackers could be ignited during specific time windows throughout the Diwali.

Throughout the festival evening, there was widespread disregard of the time restrictions across the city, with minimal regulation regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the supposedly greener type.

Numerous air quality sensors throughout the capital recorded contamination peaking around midnight to extremely hazardous readings observed during celebrations in at least recent memory.

Cross-Border Implications

Extensive ignition of pyrotechnics during Diwali also triggered a dispute with adjacent the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistan's Punjab partly blaming worsening pollution levels in the city of Lahore on hazardous particles coming from across the border following the festivities.

Chronic Environmental Problem

Extremely elevated levels of air contamination in the city have continued as a serious issue for more than 15 years, with the situation gradually deteriorating.

Around the festival period, the amount of hazardous particles in the environment has been observed to increase dramatically to 70% higher the worst levels ever recorded in Beijing, which was once viewed as the globally most contaminated metropolis.

Diverse Pollution Sources

This crisis in Delhi is resulting from a convergence of various sources including transportation pollution, construction debris, development work, garbage fires and haze from agricultural fires in neighbouring states of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, rural residents regularly ignite agricultural waste to expedite field preparation, generating hazardous smog that becomes contained over the city as colder air sets in.

Health and Financial Impact

The economic and health toll on the nearly 33 million inhabitants residing in the Delhi area is significant, according to various studies.

This pollution leads to elevated rates of nervous system, heart and circulatory and respiratory disorders, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

The pollution is projected to be accounting for 10,000 early mortalities per year in the capital.