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On Tuesday morning citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with exposed to dangerously toxic air that registered in the "severe" category.

Extremely High Air Quality Levels

Multiple areas of Delhi registered an AQI over 500, which represents ten times the healthy level set by the global health authority.

Certain monitoring stations, readings of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1,800, equating to 15 to 20 times higher than healthy levels.

Fireworks Restrictions and New Changes

For the past four years, authorities had enforced a complete ban on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during Diwali due to their major role to the hazardous smog that engulfs the metropolis as the cold season sets in.

However recently, the current local administration approached the highest court to seek a easing of the restrictions.

They proposed allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – historically doubted by environmental experts as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a middle ground between "tradition and ecological concerns".

Legal Ruling and Implementation

To the disappointment of public health and environmental activists, judges approved the request, stipulating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be ignited during designated periods throughout the celebrations.

On Monday night, there was widespread disregard of the designated hours across the city, with minimal regulation regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the eco-friendly variety.

Several recording stations throughout the capital registered pollution peaking around late evening to the most severe readings seen during celebrations in at least recent memory.

Regional Effects

The widespread use of fireworks during the celebrations also triggered a controversy with bordering the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistani Punjab province partly blaming deteriorating atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on contaminants originating in across the border following the festivities.

Long-Standing Environmental Issue

Extremely elevated concentrations of air contamination in the capital have persisted as a significant problem for more than 15 years, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

During Diwali, the concentration of hazardous particles in the atmosphere has been observed to shoot up to significantly exceeding the worst readings ever measured in Beijing, which was previously regarded as the world's most polluted city.

Various Pollution Contributors

This crisis in the city is attributed to a combination of different contributors including transportation pollution, dust, construction activities, rubbish burning and smoke from crop residue ignition in neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, farmers regularly ignite agricultural waste to prepare for next season, creating toxic smog that remains stagnant over the metropolitan area as colder air sets in.

Medical and Economic Toll

Both financial and medical toll on the approximately 33 million inhabitants living in the metropolitan zone is significant, according to multiple research.

This pollution causes high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and lung diseases, and can even lead to malignancies.

Air quality crisis is projected to be responsible for approximately 10k untimely mortalities each year in the city.