With Delhi’s air quality plummeting to “severe+” for the first time this season, the Centre’s air quality panel on Sunday announced stricter pollution control measures for the Delhi-NCR under Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which will come into effect from 8 am on Monday.

The restrictions include a ban on truck entry and a temporary halt on construction at public projects.

“The AQI of Delhi was recorded at 441 (Severe) at 4:00 PM today and has been gradually increasing further and has already reached Severe+ category, as thc AQI clocked 447, 452 and 457 at 5:00 PM, 6:00 PM and 7:0O PM, respectively,” said the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the Centre’s panel on Delhi-NCR air quality.

The GRAP for Delhi-NCR is divided into four stages of air quality: Stage 1 for “poor” air quality (AQI ranging from 201 to 300), Stage 2 for “very poor” air quality (AQI from 301 to 400), Stage 3 for “severe” air quality (AQI from 401 to 450), and Stage 4 for “severe plus” air quality (AQI above 450).

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi announced that physical classes will be discontinued for all students, apart from Class 10 and 12, in view of the rising pollution.

With the imposition of GRAP-4 from tmrw, physical classes shall be discontinued for all students, apart from Class 10 and 12. All schools will hold online classes, until further orders.

— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) November 17, 2024

According to the order, no trucks will be allowed into Delhi except for those carrying essential items or using clean fuel. 

Non-essential light commercial vehicles registered outside Delhi will also be prohibited, except for Electric Vehicles and CNG and BS-VI diesel ones.

Delhi-registered BS-IV or older diesel medium and heavy goods vehicles are banned, except for those in essential services, the panel said.

All construction activities, including highways, roads, flyovers, power lines, pipelines and other public projects, have been suspended.

The CAQM suggested online teaching for the students of Classes 6 to 9 and Class 11.

It also recommended that offices in the National Capital Region (NCR) work at 50 per cent capacity, with the rest working from home.

Work-from-home options may be introduced for central government employees, the panel said.

State governments could also decide to close colleges, limit non-essential commercial activities and implement odd-even vehicle rules, it said. 

New Delhi:

A thin layer of smog engulfed the national capital and the AQI was recorded at 296 at 7 am on Saturday, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).

In Anand Vihar, the AQI was recorded at a very poor category of 380 at 7 am; in ITO, it was 253 (poor) at 6 am; in RK Puram, it was 346 (very poor) at 6 am; in IGI Airport T3 it was 342 (very poor) at 6 am; and in Dwarka Sector 8 the AQI was 308 (very poor) at 7 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

In Anand Vihar the AQI was recorded in the very poor category of 380 At 7 am, in ITO Delhi at 6 am poor 253, in RK Puram at 6 am very poor 346, in IGI Airport T3 very poor 342 at 6 am, in Dwarka Sector 8 AQI was recorded in very poor category at 308 at 7 am.

A cyclist near India Gate told ANI that air pollution makes breathing difficult while cycling, jogging, or engaging in heavy physical activities.

“There are serious problems because of pollution; if you look around, the air is polluted. When you walk normally, you don’t feel it, but if you cycle, jog, or do any heavy work, you will feel that it is quite difficult to breathe,” a cyclist told ANI.

Another cyclist mentioned that pollution levels will rise further in the coming days, and there won’t be any relief.

“The pollution level will rise after 2-3 days. There won’t be any relief (from pollution), but it will increase,” he told ANI.

On Friday a day after the Diwali celebration, the city’s air quality was recorded in the ‘very poor’ category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Most areas in the capital recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) over 350, raising health concerns for residents.

At around 7:00 am, Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 395, Aya Nagar stood at 352, Jahangirpuri at 390, and Dwarka reached 376. All these areas reported ‘very poor’ air quality levels, posing significant health risks.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)