Overview
- The Central Pollution Control Board reported a city average AQI around 404–418 on Thursday morning, with 25–27 of 39 stations in the ‘severe’ band and hotspots such as Bawana at 460 and Chandni Chowk at 455.
- Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan is in force across Delhi‑NCR, halting non‑essential construction, restricting BS‑III petrol and BS‑IV diesel four‑wheelers, and shifting primary classes up to grade 5 to hybrid mode.
- IITM’s Decision Support System estimated stubble burning contributed 22.4% to Delhi’s PM2.5 on Wednesday, surpassing transport at about 15.5%, with projections for Thursday near 10% from stubble and roughly 19% from transport.
- A Supreme Court bench termed the situation “very serious,” said masks were not sufficient, urged senior lawyers to appear virtually, and sought status reports from Punjab and Haryana on curbing farm fires ahead of a November 17 hearing.
- Forecasters cited calm surface winds, temperature inversion and transported smoke for the persistent haze, as regional hotspots such as Lahore also logged extremely high AQIs near 455 with local peaks far higher.