NEW DELHI: India said on Sunday it will tighten restrictions including on construction activities and vehicular movement in New Delhi and its surrounding areas from Monday to combat deteriorating air quality.
The new measures, which will come into effect from Monday morning, stipulate a ban on diesel trucks in Delhi, the closure of educational institutions and a shift to remote work, as advised by the local administration.
Local authorities also announced plans to spray water with dust-preventing materials on roads and deploy mechanical sweeping operations to reduce dust.
A government statement following an emergency meeting of a committee of state officials said, “Continuing unfavorable weather conditions and low wind speeds are the main reasons for the sudden rise in the air quality index.”
The committee, which presented an eight-point action plan, urged the public, especially children, the elderly and those with respiratory, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular or other chronic diseases, to stay at home.
The air quality in north India has worsened over the past week, with the base index in New Delhi recording a reading of 465, categorized as “severe plus category”, on Sunday evening due to unfavorable weather conditions, a government statement said.
About 38% of pollution in New Delhi this year was caused by stubble burning — a practice in which paddy residue is burned after paddy harvest to clear fields — in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana, according to SAFAR’s weather forecasting agency SAFAR. Ministry of Earth Sciences.
New Delhi faces the problem of smog, a toxic mix of smoke and fog, every winter, as cold air traps dust, emissions and smoke from illegal farm fires.
Officials blamed the smog on high pollution coupled with humidity, calm winds and low temperatures, and the India Meteorological Department forecast smog conditions and low wind speeds until Saturday.
Meteorological officials said the minimum temperature in the city was expected to drop to 14 degrees Celsius (57.2 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, down from 15.9 degrees Celsius the day before.