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As Tuesday dawned inhabitants of the world's most polluted city found themselves breathing extremely polluted air that was classified as the "alarming" category.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Levels

Multiple areas of Delhi showed an AQI over 500, which equals 10x the recommended level set by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, levels of toxic particulate matter hit highs of eighteen hundred, amounting to fifteen to twenty times above healthy levels.

Pyrotechnics Restrictions and Current Policy Shifts

Since 2020, officials had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of pyrotechnics during Diwali due to their substantial impact to the hazardous pollution that engulfs the capital as the cold season begins.

However earlier this year, the newly elected regional leadership approached the supreme court to seek a relaxation of the prohibition.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – which have been questioned by environmentalists as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a compromise between "cultural practices and public health".

Legal Decision and Enforcement

Despite concerns of medical and ecological activists, the court agreed to the proposal, specifying that environmentally conscious fireworks could be set off during limited time windows throughout the Diwali.

During the celebrations, there was considerable disregard of the designated hours across the metropolis, with little regulation regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Many air quality sensors throughout the city showed contamination peaking around late evening to extremely hazardous levels observed during Diwali in at least recent memory.

Regional Consequences

The proliferation of firecrackers during Diwali also initiated a dispute with neighbouring Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistan's the Punjab region pointing to worsening atmospheric conditions in the city of Lahore on contaminants coming from across the border following the events.

Chronic Environmental Crisis

Extremely elevated readings of pollution in the capital have remained as a significant challenge for fifteen-plus years, with the condition continuing to worsen.

Near the festival period, the levels of toxic particulate matter in the atmosphere has been found to increase dramatically to 70% higher the most severe records ever recorded in the Chinese city, which was formerly viewed as the planet's dirtiest city.

Diverse Contamination Factors

The situation in the city is attributed to a mix of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, construction debris, development work, garbage fires and haze from farm burning in nearby regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

Throughout these areas, farmers regularly burn crop residue to prepare for next season, creating hazardous haze that remains stagnant over the capital as cooler air arrives.

Health and Financial Toll

Both financial and medical consequences on the nearly 33 million residents living in the capital region is significant, according to multiple research.

The contaminated air causes increased incidence of neurological, heart and circulatory and lung disorders, and can result in oncological diseases.

Air quality crisis is calculated to be causing approximately 10k early fatalities each year in the capital.