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Tuesday brought residents of this heavily contaminated metropolis were faced with exposed to dangerously toxic air that fell into the "severe" range.

Extremely High Air Quality Readings

Various sections of the capital recorded an air quality index above 500, which translates to a tenfold increase over the recommended threshold set by the WHO.

Particular areas, concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 hit highs of 1,800, representing 15-20x exceeding acceptable levels.

Firecracker Restrictions and Recent Policy Shifts

For the past four years, authorities had implemented a comprehensive restriction on the purchase and ignition of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their significant contribution to the deadly haze that covers the city as the cold season begins.

However earlier this year, the recently formed city leadership appealed to the judicial authority to seek a modification of the restrictions.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – previously questioned by environmentalists as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a balance between "tradition and environment".

Legal Decision and Reality

To the disappointment of public health and environmental campaigners, judges complied with the proposal, specifying that environmentally conscious fireworks could be set off during designated hours throughout the festival.

On Monday night, there was widespread flouting of the designated hours across the city, with minimal enforcement regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly version.

Numerous recording stations throughout Delhi showed contamination reaching highest levels around the night hours to some of the worst levels seen during the festival in at least three years.

Cross-Border Effects

The proliferation of firecrackers during the celebrations also sparked a controversy with neighbouring Pakistan, with officials in Pakistan's Punjab province partially attributing deteriorating pollution levels in the city of Lahore on hazardous particles coming from India following the events.

Chronic Pollution Crisis

The dangerously high concentrations of pollution in the capital have continued as a serious problem for fifteen-plus years, with the situation showing no improvement.

During the festival period, the amount of toxic particles in the air has been found to spike to significantly exceeding the worst readings ever measured in the Chinese city, which was formerly regarded as the planet's dirtiest metropolis.

Multiple Contamination Factors

The problem in the city is resulting from a mix of various sources including automobile exhaust, dust, building projects, rubbish burning and smoke from farm burning in nearby states of Punjab and Haryana.

In these regions, rural residents illegally burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, producing toxic smog that remains stagnant over the metropolitan area as colder air descends.

Health and Economic Toll

Public health and economic consequences on the roughly thirty-three million people residing in the capital region is significant, according to multiple research.

The contaminated air leads to high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and lung conditions, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

Air quality crisis is estimated to be accounting for 10,000 premature fatalities annually in the capital.