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On Tuesday morning citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves breathing extremely polluted air that registered in the "critical" range.

Alarming Air Quality Readings

Various sections of the capital recorded an pollution measurement above 500, which translates to a tenfold increase over the recommended limit established by the World Health Organization.

Certain monitoring stations, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles soared to of eighteen hundred, representing 15-20x higher than healthy limits.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and Recent Changes

For the past four years, the government had implemented a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during celebrations due to their substantial impact to the dangerous pollution that covers the city as colder weather sets in.

Yet earlier this year, the recently formed local administration petitioned the highest court to request a relaxation of the restrictions.

They proposed allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – which have been questioned by environmentalists as being only about 30% lower impact – as a middle ground between "tradition and ecological concerns".

Court Ruling and Implementation

Despite concerns of public health and environmental activists, the court complied with the request, specifying that green firecrackers could be set off during limited hours throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was extensive disregard of the designated hours across the city, with minimal monitoring regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the eco-friendly variety.

Several recording stations throughout the city showed pollution spiking around midnight to some of the worst levels seen during the festival in at least three years.

Regional Implications

The widespread use of firecrackers during Diwali also sparked a dispute with bordering the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab pointing to declining pollution levels in their urban centers on hazardous particles coming from neighboring India following the events.

Chronic Pollution Issue

Alarmingly severe levels of pollution in the city have remained as a major problem for more than 15 years, with the problem continuing to worsen.

During celebratory seasons, the concentration of hazardous airborne contaminants in the environment has been found to increase dramatically to seventy percent above the most severe readings ever measured in the Chinese city, which was previously viewed as the world's most polluted urban center.

Various Contamination Factors

The problem in Delhi is caused by a combination of multiple factors including transportation pollution, dust, construction activities, waste incineration and smoke from crop residue ignition in adjacent states of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, farmers routinely ignite agricultural waste to expedite field preparation, producing hazardous pollution that remains stagnant over the capital as winter air sets in.

Health and Financial Toll

Both financial and medical impact on the roughly thirty-three million residents living in the Delhi area is substantial, according to numerous research.

These hazardous conditions leads to elevated rates of neurological, heart and circulatory and respiratory conditions, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

The pollution is estimated to be responsible for 10,000 untimely mortalities annually in the city.