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Tuesday brought citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center encountered inhaling severely hazardous air that registered in the "alarming" level.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Measurements

Various sections of the capital showed an pollution measurement above 500, which translates to ten times the safe level recommended by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, levels of PM2.5 and PM10 soared to of 1800, equating to fifteen to twenty times above healthy levels.

Pyrotechnics Ban and Current Changes

For the past four years, the government had maintained a complete ban on the distribution and bursting of pyrotechnics during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the deadly haze that engulfs the metropolis as the cold season approaches.

Yet recently, the recently formed regional government petitioned the judicial authority to seek a modification of the ban.

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

Judicial Decision and Implementation

To the disappointment of medical and ecological activists, judicial authorities complied with the request, mandating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be set off during limited periods throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable violation of the regulated periods across the city, with little regulation regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the supposedly greener type.

Several air quality sensors throughout the city showed contamination peaking around the night hours to extremely hazardous measurements recorded during celebrations in at least the past three years.

International Implications

Extensive ignition of fireworks during the festival also initiated a blame game with adjacent the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab province pointing to deteriorating atmospheric conditions in the city of Lahore on hazardous particles traveling from across the border following the events.

Persistent Environmental Issue

Alarmingly severe readings of pollution in the capital have remained as a serious challenge for over a decade and a half, with the problem continuing to worsen.

During the festival period, the levels of toxic particles in the environment has been observed to shoot up to seventy percent above the peak levels ever measured in the Chinese city, which was once considered as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Diverse Pollution Contributors

The situation in the capital is resulting from a mix of various sources including automobile exhaust, construction debris, construction activities, waste incineration and pollutants from crop residue ignition in adjacent states of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, rural residents regularly ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, generating hazardous pollution that then gets trapped over the metropolitan area as cooler air sets in.

Health and Economic Consequences

Both financial and medical consequences on the approximately 33 million inhabitants living in the Delhi area is substantial, according to various investigations.

These hazardous conditions leads to high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and breathing diseases, and can potentially cause malignancies.

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