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As Tuesday dawned inhabitants of this heavily contaminated metropolis encountered inhaling severely hazardous air that registered in the "alarming" range.

Extremely High Air Quality Levels

Various sections of Delhi showed an air quality index exceeding 500, which translates to 10x the healthy level established by the World Health Organization.

Particular areas, concentrations of toxic particulate matter soared to of 1,800, representing fifteen to twenty times above acceptable standards.

Fireworks Ban and New Developments

Since 2020, the government had implemented a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their significant contribution to the dangerous smog that blankets the metropolis as winter sets in.

Nevertheless in recent months, the recently formed city administration approached the supreme court to seek a easing of the restrictions.

Officials advocated for allowing "green crackers" – historically questioned by environmental experts as being only approximately one-third lower impact – as a middle ground between "heritage and public health".

Judicial Ruling and Enforcement

Much to the frustration of public health and environmental advocates, judges complied with the request, stipulating that green firecrackers could be set off during designated periods throughout the celebrations.

Throughout the festival evening, there was extensive flouting of the regulated periods across the capital, with little monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly version.

Many air quality sensors throughout the city recorded air quality spiking around midnight to extremely hazardous levels observed during celebrations in at least the past three years.

Regional Implications

The widespread use of firecrackers during Diwali also initiated a dispute with neighbouring Pakistan, with officials in Pakistan's Punjab partly blaming deteriorating air quality in their urban centers on hazardous particles traveling from neighboring India following the events.

Chronic Environmental Crisis

The dangerously high levels of pollution in the city have persisted as a significant challenge for more than 15 years, with the problem gradually deteriorating.

Around the festival period, the levels of hazardous airborne contaminants in the air has been found to spike to 70% higher the worst records ever measured in Beijing, which was previously regarded as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Multiple Contamination Factors

This crisis in Delhi is caused by a mix of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, dust, construction activities, rubbish burning and pollutants from agricultural fires in neighbouring areas of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, rural residents routinely set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, creating dangerous pollution that becomes contained over the city as winter air arrives.

Medical and Financial Toll

The economic and health consequences on the nearly 33 million residents calling home the Delhi area is enormous, according to multiple research.

The contaminated air leads to high levels of nervous system, heart and circulatory and lung disorders, and can potentially cause cancer.

The pollution is estimated to be causing ten thousand untimely mortalities each year in the capital.