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Tuesday brought inhabitants of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves inhaling severely hazardous air that registered in the "alarming" category.

Extremely High Pollution Readings

Various sections of the capital showed an pollution measurement over 500, which represents 10x the recommended level set by the global health authority.

Certain monitoring stations, levels of dangerous airborne particles soared to of eighteen hundred, equating to fifteen to twenty times higher than acceptable standards.

Fireworks Prohibition and Recent Developments

For the past four years, authorities had maintained a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the hazardous smog that covers the metropolis as the cold season begins.

Nevertheless recently, the newly elected city administration appealed to the supreme court to seek a relaxation of the prohibition.

The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – which have been doubted by environmental experts as being only roughly 30 percent reduced emissions – as a balance between "cultural practices and public health".

Court Decision and Reality

Despite concerns of medical and ecological activists, judicial authorities agreed to the proposal, stipulating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be ignited during limited hours throughout the celebrations.

On Monday night, there was considerable flouting of the designated hours across the capital, with little monitoring regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Many recording stations throughout the city recorded contamination reaching highest levels around midnight to some of the worst readings seen during the festival in at least the past three years.

Regional Effects

The widespread use of fireworks during Diwali also initiated a controversy with adjacent Pakistan, with officials in Pakistani Punjab partly blaming worsening pollution levels in the city of Lahore on pollutants originating in across the border following the celebrations.

Chronic Pollution Problem

Alarmingly severe concentrations of air contamination in the capital have continued as a significant issue for over a decade and a half, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

Near the festival period, the levels of toxic particles in the atmosphere has been observed to spike to seventy percent above the worst records ever recorded in China's capital, which was previously considered as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Various Pollution Factors

This crisis in the city is attributed to a combination of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, airborne particles, building projects, garbage fires and pollutants from agricultural fires in nearby states of Punjab and Haryana.

Within these states, rural residents illegally burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, creating hazardous pollution that becomes contained over the metropolitan area as colder air descends.

Public Health and Economic Toll

Both financial and medical impact on the nearly 33 million residents calling home the metropolitan zone is significant, according to various investigations.

This pollution leads to increased incidence of neurological, heart and circulatory and respiratory disorders, and can result in cancer.

The pollution is projected to be accounting for 10,000 premature fatalities per year in Delhi.