Overview
- Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI reached 354 on Friday, up from 343 on Thursday, with multiple monitoring stations reporting values in the very poor range, according to CPCB data.
- Stage III curbs halt non-essential construction and demolition, shut stone crushers, brick kilns and mining, and suspend ready-mix concrete plants and high-dust industrial units using unapproved fuel.
- Vehicle measures bar BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar, and restrict older diesel goods vehicles and inter-state diesel buses unless they meet CNG, electric or BS-VI standards.
- Agencies across the NCR have been directed to intensify enforcement, with CAQM flying squads recently documenting 65 biomass and municipal waste burning or dumping incidents in Jahangir Puri, Shalimar Bagh and Wazirpur.
- The escalation comes after Stage III was lifted on January 2 while Stage I–II steps continued; schools up to Class 5 may shift to hybrid or online mode and essential infrastructure projects remain exempt.