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Tuesday brought citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with exposed to severely hazardous air that registered in the "critical" level.

Alarming Air Quality Levels

Multiple areas of the capital registered an pollution measurement exceeding 500, which represents ten times the healthy threshold recommended by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, levels of dangerous airborne particles soared to of eighteen hundred, equating to fifteen to twenty times higher than safe levels.

Pyrotechnics Restrictions and New Changes

For the past four years, officials had enforced a total prohibition on the purchase and ignition of firecrackers during celebrations due to their major role to the hazardous haze that blankets the city as the cold season sets in.

Nevertheless in recent months, the recently formed local government appealed to the highest court to seek a relaxation of the prohibition.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – which have been criticized by environmental experts as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a balance between "heritage and ecological concerns".

Judicial Decision and Reality

To the disappointment of public health and environmental campaigners, judicial authorities agreed to the proposal, specifying that environmentally conscious fireworks could be used during limited hours throughout the Diwali.

On Monday night, there was widespread flouting of the designated hours across the city, with insufficient monitoring regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the eco-friendly version.

Many recording stations throughout the capital registered air quality peaking around the night hours to the most severe measurements seen during Diwali in at least the past three years.

Cross-Border Implications

The widespread use of fireworks during the celebrations also initiated a blame game with bordering the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistani Punjab pointing to declining air quality in Lahore on hazardous particles originating in across the border following the festivities.

Persistent Environmental Problem

The dangerously high readings of air contamination in Delhi have persisted as a major problem for fifteen-plus years, with the condition continuing to worsen.

During Diwali, the concentration of hazardous particles in the air has been observed to increase dramatically to 70% higher the peak levels ever documented in Beijing, which was formerly viewed as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Multiple Pollution Contributors

This crisis in the capital is resulting from a convergence of multiple factors including automobile exhaust, construction debris, building projects, waste incineration and haze from farm burning in adjacent regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, rural residents illegally ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, producing hazardous pollution that then gets trapped over the city as winter air arrives.

Medical and Economic Consequences

Public health and economic consequences on the approximately 33 million residents calling home the capital region is substantial, according to multiple investigations.

The contaminated air results in high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and breathing diseases, and can result in cancer.

Air quality crisis is estimated to be causing ten thousand premature mortalities annually in the capital.