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As Tuesday dawned residents of this heavily contaminated metropolis were faced with exposed to severely hazardous air that was classified as the "severe" level.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Levels

Multiple areas of the city registered an air quality index exceeding 500, which represents ten times the healthy limit set by the WHO.

In some locations, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1,800, representing fifteen to twenty times above acceptable levels.

Firecracker Ban and New Changes

Beginning in 2020, the government had maintained a complete ban on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during Diwali due to their significant contribution to the dangerous smog that blankets the capital as colder weather sets in.

Nevertheless in recent months, the current city administration approached the highest court to propose a relaxation of the prohibition.

The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – previously questioned by environmental experts as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a balance between "cultural practices and ecological concerns".

Court Ruling and Enforcement

To the disappointment of medical and ecological campaigners, judicial authorities agreed to the request, stipulating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be set off during specific hours throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was widespread violation of the designated hours across the city, with minimal regulation regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the supposedly greener type.

Many recording stations throughout the city registered contamination reaching highest levels around late evening to the most severe measurements recorded during Diwali in at least the past three years.

Regional Effects

The proliferation of firecrackers during the festival also triggered a blame game with neighbouring Pakistan, with representatives in Pakistan's the Punjab region pointing to declining pollution levels in Lahore on hazardous particles traveling from across the border following the events.

Persistent Pollution Issue

Extremely elevated readings of air contamination in the city have remained as a significant challenge for over a decade and a half, with the problem showing no improvement.

During Diwali, the amount of hazardous airborne contaminants in the air has been found to shoot up to significantly exceeding the peak records ever measured in the Chinese city, which was previously viewed as the globally most contaminated metropolis.

Diverse Pollution Factors

The problem in Delhi is caused by a combination of different contributors including transportation pollution, construction debris, development work, waste incineration and pollutants from agricultural fires in adjacent areas of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, farmers routinely ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, creating toxic pollution that then gets trapped over the capital as cooler air arrives.

Health and Economic Toll

The economic and health toll on the approximately 33 million residents residing in the metropolitan zone is significant, according to various investigations.

These hazardous conditions leads to increased incidence of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing disorders, and can result in malignancies.

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