Overview
- The Commission for Air Quality Management invoked Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan with immediate effect across the entire National Capital Region.
- Delhi’s average AQI jumped from 362 to roughly 421–425, with 34 of 39 stations at ‘severe’ levels and Bawana peaking at 462.
- Stage 3 bans non-essential construction and demolition, shuts stone crushers and mining, and restricts BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar.
- Additional curbs include limits on certain diesel goods vehicles and inter-state diesel buses, closure of non-compliant industrial activities, and a ban on diesel generator sets except for emergency use.
- Schools up to Class 5 will shift to hybrid or online modes and workplaces are advised to adopt hybrid or work-from-home, as officials note a data outage on the CPCB/Sameer systems delayed AQI updates for hours on Monday.