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Tuesday brought residents of this heavily contaminated metropolis found themselves breathing severely hazardous air that fell into the "severe" range.

Extremely High Pollution Measurements

Various sections of the city showed an air quality index over 500, which equals a tenfold increase over the safe limit recommended by the World Health Organization.

Particular areas, readings of PM2.5 and PM10 hit highs of 1,800, equating to fifteen to twenty times higher than safe levels.

Pyrotechnics Restrictions and New Developments

For the past four years, the government had enforced a complete ban on the sale and use of fireworks during Diwali due to their major role to the dangerous smog that engulfs the city as colder weather sets in.

However earlier this year, the current city leadership approached the supreme court to request a easing of the restrictions.

They proposed allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – historically criticized by conservation groups as being only roughly 30 percent lower impact – as a compromise between "tradition and ecological concerns".

Court Decision and Reality

Despite concerns of environmental and health activists, judicial authorities agreed to the appeal, mandating that green firecrackers could be used during specific hours throughout the celebrations.

During the celebrations, there was widespread violation of the designated hours across the capital, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly variety.

Many recording stations throughout the city recorded pollution reaching highest levels around midnight to the most severe measurements recorded during Diwali in at least recent memory.

International Implications

The widespread use of fireworks during the festival also initiated a dispute with neighbouring Pakistan, with officials in Pakistani Punjab pointing to deteriorating air quality in the city of Lahore on contaminants traveling from India following the events.

Persistent Environmental Crisis

Extremely elevated levels of air contamination in Delhi have remained as a major challenge for more than 15 years, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

Near Diwali, the amount of dangerous particulate matter in the air has been observed to shoot up to significantly exceeding the worst readings ever documented in Beijing, which was previously regarded as the globally most contaminated urban center.

Multiple Contamination Sources

The problem in the city is attributed to a mix of multiple factors including transportation pollution, dust, building projects, waste incineration and haze from agricultural fires in neighbouring states of neighboring agricultural zones.

Throughout these areas, farmers illegally ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, generating dangerous smog that then gets trapped over the capital as colder air descends.

Health and Financial Impact

Both financial and medical impact on the roughly thirty-three million people living in the metropolitan zone is significant, according to multiple studies.

These hazardous conditions leads to high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and respiratory diseases, and can result in cancer.

Air quality crisis is estimated to be responsible for ten thousand untimely fatalities per year in the capital.