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On Tuesday morning citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves breathing severely hazardous air that was classified as the "alarming" category.

Extremely High Air Quality Readings

Several parts of the capital registered an pollution measurement above 500, which translates to 10x the safe level recommended by the WHO.

In some locations, concentrations of toxic particulate matter hit highs of 1,800, representing 15 to 20 times above healthy levels.

Pyrotechnics Ban and New Policy Shifts

For the past four years, officials had enforced a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of pyrotechnics during the Festival of Lights due to their significant contribution to the dangerous haze that engulfs the capital as winter begins.

Yet earlier this year, the recently formed city leadership appealed to the highest court to request a modification of the ban.

The suggestion was allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – which have been questioned by conservation groups as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a compromise between "cultural practices and environment".

Judicial Verdict and Enforcement

Despite concerns of medical and ecological activists, judges agreed to the request, specifying that environmentally conscious fireworks could be used during specific periods throughout the Diwali.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable violation of the designated hours across the metropolis, with little monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Many air quality sensors throughout the city recorded pollution reaching highest levels around midnight to some of the worst measurements observed during the festival in at least recent memory.

International Implications

Extensive ignition of firecrackers during the celebrations also triggered a controversy with bordering Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab province pointing to deteriorating pollution levels in Lahore on pollutants traveling from neighboring India following the events.

Chronic Environmental Problem

Alarmingly severe levels of atmospheric toxins in the capital have persisted as a significant issue for over a decade and a half, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

Around celebratory seasons, the concentration of hazardous particulate matter in the atmosphere has been observed to spike to seventy percent above the worst records ever measured in the Chinese city, which was formerly regarded as the globally most contaminated urban center.

Multiple Pollution Factors

The situation in the capital is caused by a convergence of various sources including automobile exhaust, dust, development work, rubbish burning and pollutants from farm burning in nearby regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, farmers illegally set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, generating dangerous haze that becomes contained over the metropolitan area as winter air descends.

Public Health and Economic Toll

The economic and health toll on the approximately 33 million people calling home the metropolitan zone is enormous, according to multiple studies.

The contaminated air leads to high levels of neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and can potentially cause malignancies.

Environmental contamination is calculated to be causing 10,000 early mortalities per year in the capital.