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On Tuesday morning citizens of this heavily contaminated metropolis found themselves exposed to extremely polluted air that fell into the "alarming" range.

Extremely High Air Quality Readings

Multiple areas of Delhi showed an pollution measurement over 500, which represents a tenfold increase over the healthy limit established by the global health authority.

Particular areas, concentrations of toxic particulate matter hit highs of 1,800, representing 15-20x higher than acceptable limits.

Fireworks Prohibition and Current Developments

For the past four years, the government had maintained a complete ban on the sale and use of pyrotechnics during celebrations due to their significant contribution to the hazardous haze that covers the city as colder weather begins.

Nevertheless in recent months, the current city administration appealed to the supreme court to propose a modification of the prohibition.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – historically questioned by environmentalists as being only roughly 30 percent lower impact – as a compromise between "heritage and ecological concerns".

Judicial Ruling and Enforcement

Much to the frustration of medical and ecological activists, judges approved the proposal, stipulating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be set off during designated hours throughout the celebrations.

During the celebrations, there was extensive violation of the designated hours across the metropolis, with minimal regulation regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly variety.

Several monitoring devices throughout the city registered pollution reaching highest levels around midnight to some of the worst readings recorded during the festival in at least recent memory.

Regional Effects

Extensive ignition of firecrackers during the festival also sparked a controversy with bordering the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistani the Punjab region partially attributing deteriorating air quality in Lahore on contaminants coming from neighboring India following the events.

Long-Standing Environmental Problem

Alarmingly severe levels of air contamination in Delhi have persisted as a significant issue for over a decade and a half, with the problem showing no improvement.

Around Diwali, the concentration of dangerous particulate matter in the atmosphere has been documented to spike to seventy percent above the worst records ever documented in China's capital, which was previously viewed as the globally most contaminated city.

Multiple Contamination Contributors

The situation in Delhi is caused by a convergence of different contributors including automobile exhaust, dust, building projects, rubbish burning and pollutants from agricultural fires in nearby regions of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, farmers illegally burn crop residue to prepare for next season, producing hazardous smog that becomes contained over the metropolitan area as winter air sets in.

Public Health and Financial Impact

Both financial and medical toll on the approximately 33 million inhabitants calling home the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to various studies.

This pollution leads to increased incidence of neurological, heart and circulatory and breathing disorders, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

Environmental contamination is calculated to be causing 10,000 untimely fatalities annually in Delhi.