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As Tuesday dawned inhabitants of the world's most polluted city encountered breathing severely hazardous air that fell into the "severe" level.

Alarming Air Quality Readings

Multiple areas of the city registered an air quality index exceeding 500, which translates to a tenfold increase over the recommended limit set by the WHO.

In some locations, readings of toxic particulate matter hit highs of 1,800, equating to 15-20x higher than acceptable levels.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and Current Changes

Beginning in 2020, officials had enforced a complete ban on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during celebrations due to their substantial impact to the deadly haze that blankets the metropolis as the cold season sets in.

However recently, the newly elected city administration appealed to the highest court to request a relaxation of the restrictions.

The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – historically doubted by conservation groups as being only approximately one-third less polluting – as a balance between "heritage and ecological concerns".

Court Decision and Enforcement

Despite concerns of medical and ecological activists, judges agreed to the request, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be set off during specific time windows throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was extensive flouting of the designated hours across the city, with little enforcement regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the eco-friendly variety.

Several monitoring devices throughout the city showed contamination spiking around midnight to some of the worst measurements recorded during celebrations in at least three years.

Regional Effects

The proliferation of pyrotechnics during Diwali also initiated a controversy with bordering the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistan's Punjab province partially attributing worsening air quality in Lahore on pollutants originating in across the border following the events.

Long-Standing Environmental Issue

Extremely elevated readings of air contamination in Delhi have continued as a significant problem for more than 15 years, with the situation gradually deteriorating.

Near the festival period, the concentration of toxic particles in the atmosphere has been observed to shoot up to 70% higher the worst readings ever recorded in China's capital, which was once considered as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Diverse Pollution Contributors

This crisis in Delhi is caused by a mix of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, airborne particles, construction activities, garbage fires and pollutants from crop residue ignition in adjacent areas of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, farmers illegally set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, producing toxic haze that remains stagnant over the capital as winter air arrives.

Public Health and Economic Toll

Both financial and medical toll on the roughly thirty-three million people living in the capital region is enormous, according to numerous studies.

This pollution results in high levels of neurological, cardiovascular and lung disorders, and can result in oncological diseases.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be accounting for ten thousand premature deaths each year in the capital.