Overview
- CAQM escalated restrictions to Stage 4 on Saturday evening after Delhi’s AQI jumped from 354 on Friday to 400 at 4 pm Saturday and 434 by 11 pm, with readings touching 444 on Sunday morning.
- Stage 4 curbs include a halt on all construction and demolition, restrictions on truck entry to essential and cleaner-fuel vehicles, and a shift to hybrid lessons for schools up to Class 10 in Delhi with similar rules in NCR districts.
- Measures under Stage 3 remain in force, including a ban on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar.
- Dense fog triggered low-visibility procedures at IGI Airport, visibility fell to zero for hours at Safdarjung and to 100 metres at Palam, and more than 550 flights were delayed on Saturday.
- IMD and IITM attribute the spike to slow winds, a stable atmosphere and high humidity; AQEWS projects ‘severe’ conditions through Sunday, easing to ‘very poor’ early next week, and authorities issued health advisories urging limited outdoor exposure.