With Delhi's air quality plummeting to "severe+" for the first time this season, the Centre's air quality panel on Sunday announced stricter pollution control measures for the Delhi-NCR under Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which will come into effect from 8 am on Monday.
The Delhi government suspended in-person classes for all except for students of classes 10 and 12, hours after the stricter pollution control measures were invoked.
The restrictions include a ban on truck entry and a temporary halt on construction at public projects.
"The AQI of Delhi was recorded at 441 (Severe) at 4:00 PM today and has been gradually increasing further and has already reached Severe+ category, as thc AQI clocked 447, 452 and 457 at 5:00 PM, 6:00 PM and 7:0O PM, respectively," said the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the Centre's panel on Delhi-NCR air quality.
The GRAP for Delhi-NCR is divided into four stages of air quality: Stage 1 for "poor" air quality (AQI ranging from 201 to 300), Stage 2 for "very poor" air quality (AQI from 301 to 400), Stage 3 for "severe" air quality (AQI from 401 to 450), and Stage 4 for "severe plus" air quality (AQI above 450).
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi announced that physical classes will be discontinued for all students, apart from Class 10 and 12, in view of the rising pollution.
According to the order, no trucks will be allowed into Delhi except for those carrying essential items or using clean fuel.
Non-essential light commercial vehicles registered outside Delhi will also be prohibited, except for Electric Vehicles and CNG and BS-VI diesel ones.
Delhi-registered BS-IV or older diesel medium and heavy goods vehicles are banned, except for those in essential services, the panel said.
All construction activities, including highways, roads, flyovers, power lines, pipelines and other public projects, have been suspended.
The CAQM suggested online teaching for the students of Classes 6 to 9 and Class 11.
It also recommended that offices in the National Capital Region (NCR) work at 50 per cent capacity, with the rest working from home.
Work-from-home options may be introduced for central government employees, the panel said.
State governments could also decide to close colleges, limit non-essential commercial activities and implement odd-even vehicle rules, it said.