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Tuesday brought inhabitants of the world's most polluted city encountered exposed to extremely polluted air that fell into the "severe" category.

Extremely High Pollution Readings

Several parts of the capital showed an air quality index over 500, which equals a tenfold increase over the safe threshold recommended by the World Health Organization.

Particular areas, levels of PM2.5 and PM10 hit highs of 1800, equating to fifteen to twenty times above healthy standards.

Fireworks Prohibition and Recent Policy Shifts

For the past four years, officials had enforced a complete ban on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during the Festival of Lights due to their significant contribution to the dangerous pollution that covers the metropolis as the cold season sets in.

However recently, the recently formed local administration appealed to the judicial authority to seek a relaxation of the ban.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – previously doubted by environmental experts as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a balance between "tradition and public health".

Legal Decision and Enforcement

Despite concerns of medical and ecological campaigners, the court agreed to the appeal, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be set off during limited time windows throughout the celebrations.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable disregard of the time restrictions across the capital, with little monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the eco-friendly variety.

Several air quality sensors throughout the capital recorded contamination peaking around late evening to some of the worst readings seen during celebrations in at least the past three years.

International Effects

The widespread use of fireworks during the festival also triggered a controversy with adjacent the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistani Punjab partially attributing deteriorating atmospheric conditions in Lahore on hazardous particles originating in across the border following the celebrations.

Persistent Environmental Issue

The dangerously high concentrations of pollution in Delhi have continued as a major issue for more than 15 years, with the situation continuing to worsen.

During the festival period, the concentration of toxic particles in the air has been found to spike to 70% higher the worst readings ever recorded in China's capital, which was previously regarded as the globally most contaminated metropolis.

Diverse Pollution Contributors

The problem in Delhi is caused by a convergence of various sources including transportation pollution, construction debris, building projects, waste incineration and smoke from farm burning in nearby areas of neighboring agricultural zones.

Within these states, rural residents routinely set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, producing toxic pollution that becomes contained over the metropolitan area as cooler air arrives.

Health and Financial Toll

The economic and health consequences on the roughly thirty-three million residents residing in the metropolitan zone is significant, according to various research.

The contaminated air leads to increased incidence of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing conditions, and can result in oncological diseases.

The pollution is calculated to be accounting for ten thousand early deaths each year in the capital.