The Commission for Air Quality Management, or CAQM, announced the restrictions Thursday under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan, or GRAP.
As the city choked under “severe” category air pollution Friday morning, the Delhi government banned private BS III petrol and BS IV diesel vehicles, interstate non-electric CNG buses, certain types of construction activities, and staggered government office timings.
The Commission for Air Quality Management, or CAQM, announced the restrictions Thursday under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan, or GRAP.
According to official data, Delhi’s air quality index was 411 (severe) at 9 a.m. on Friday. The average 24-hour AQI at 4 pm, however, dropped to 396, still falling into the “very poor” category, as wind speed increased.
With increased wind speed on Saturday, the situation will get even better, according to Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai.
Given the pollution levels, Chief Minister Atishi announced staggered hours for city government offices in an effort to reduce traffic.
The central government offices will be open from 9 am to 5.30 pm, the Delhi government offices from 10 am to 6.30 pm, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) offices from 8.30 am to 5 pm, according to the schedule she posted on X.
Delhi LG V K Saxena expressed dissatisfaction that a measure that should have been in place as a preventive step was implemented with a delay of several days and approved the staggered government office timings until February 2025.
He stated that it was anticipated that the Delhi government would guarantee rigorous implementation of additional measures that were discussed during an October 24 pollution control meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).
Rai stated at a press conference that the government had taken a number of actions to address the situation.
The last two days have seen Delhi’s air quality fall into the “severe” category.
To encourage public transport, the government will operate 106 shuttle buses and the Metro trains will make 60 additional daily trips. According to him, private construction and demolition operations will be completely prohibited while essential government construction projects are carried out.
In an effort to deter government officials from using private vehicles, 40 specially designed shuttle buses will be used to transport them throughout the city, he said.
Private BS III petrol and BS IV diesel vehicles were prohibited from using the roads; infractions carried a Rs 20,000 fine. Additionally prohibited are diesel and petrol interstate buses that travel to Delhi from the NCR cities.
The transport department has dispatched 84 teams and 280 additional staff to catch violators, Rai said.
After the weekend, city schools will switch to online instruction for classes up to five. Several private school principals and teachers reported that they were addressing the issue with smart boards and apps.
Mahesh Palawat of Skymet Weather Services told PTI that winds between 8 and 12 kmph were responsible for Friday’s better air quality.
Even though the AQI will still be classified as “very poor” on Saturday, it will get better in comparison.
18 of Delhi’s 39 monitoring stations reported “severe” air quality, compared to 27 in the morning, according to the Sameer app, which offers hourly updates of the Central Pollution Control Board’s national AQI.
Aya Nagar, Bawana, DTU, Dwarka Sector 8, IGI Airport, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, Narela, Nehru Nagar, Patparganj, Punjabi Bagh, Alipur, Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, and Aya Nagar are some of these stations.
Approximately 33.3% of Delhi’s pollution on Thursday came from stubble burning, making it the largest contributor, according to the Centre’s Decision Support System for Air Quality Management.
On Friday, the estimated contribution of vehicle emissions to Delhi’s pollution was 11.9%.
According to the CPCB, PM2.5—fine particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less, or roughly the width of a human hair—was the main pollutant.
There are serious health risks because these particles are so tiny that they can enter the bloodstream and travel deep into the lungs.