Overview
- Delhi-NCR stayed in hazardous territory on Wednesday, with the city average AQI near 390 and roughly 16–18 stations in the ‘severe’ range, including readings above 440 at Wazirpur, Bawana and Jahangirpuri, and around 450 in Greater Noida.
- The Supreme Court asked the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to consider directing schools to postpone outdoor sports and competitions planned for November–December to months with safer air.
- The bench said CAQM may take any proactive measure to curb pollution, including advancing tougher GRAP actions after consulting stakeholders, and it scheduled monthly hearings to monitor implementation.
- The court directed Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to provide subsistence allowances to construction workers idled by GRAP Stage 3 construction bans.
- Responding to concerns raised in court, authorities were asked to explain AQI monitoring accuracy after reports of water sprinkling near stations, as official data this week attributed roughly 18% of Delhi’s particulate load to vehicles and about 5% to stubble burning.