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Tuesday brought residents of this heavily contaminated metropolis were faced with breathing extremely polluted air that registered in the "severe" level.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Readings

Multiple areas of the capital registered an AQI over 500, which equals 10x the recommended level established by the WHO.

In some locations, levels of dangerous airborne particles soared to of 1,800, amounting to 15-20x higher than acceptable standards.

Fireworks Restrictions and Current Changes

Since 2020, officials had implemented a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the dangerous smog that engulfs the capital as colder weather begins.

However in recent months, the current local government approached the highest court to propose a easing of the restrictions.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – previously questioned by environmental experts as being only approximately one-third less polluting – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and public health".

Court Verdict and Reality

To the disappointment of medical and ecological activists, the court complied with the proposal, stipulating that green firecrackers could be set off during designated hours throughout the festival.

During the celebrations, there was extensive violation of the regulated periods across the metropolis, with little enforcement regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Many recording stations throughout Delhi recorded air quality reaching highest levels around the night hours to the most severe levels observed during celebrations in at least three years.

Regional Consequences

The widespread use of fireworks during the festival also triggered a blame game with neighbouring the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistani the Punjab region partially attributing worsening atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on contaminants traveling from across the border following the events.

Persistent Pollution Crisis

Extremely elevated concentrations of pollution in the capital have remained as a serious challenge for over a decade and a half, with the problem showing no improvement.

Around Diwali, the amount of hazardous particulate matter in the air has been found to spike to seventy percent above the worst levels ever recorded in the Chinese city, which was formerly regarded as the globally most contaminated city.

Various Contamination Contributors

The problem in the capital is resulting from a convergence of different contributors including transportation pollution, airborne particles, construction activities, rubbish burning and haze from farm burning in nearby regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

Throughout these areas, rural residents regularly burn crop residue to clear them quickly, producing dangerous smog that then gets trapped over the capital as colder air descends.

Medical and Financial Consequences

Both financial and medical impact on the nearly 33 million people calling home the metropolitan zone is enormous, according to various investigations.

The contaminated air results in high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and lung disorders, and can result in oncological diseases.

Air quality crisis is estimated to be accounting for ten thousand untimely deaths each year in the city.