Private BS III petrol and BS IV diesel vehicles were banned from roads with violations inviting a penalty of ₹20,000.

In an immediate effort to reduce the impact of polluted air, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi announced on Friday a revision of working hours across government offices, aiming to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality. The Air Quality Index (AQI) readings and particulate matter (PM) levels in various parts of the city are as follows:

Northern India encountered the recurring annual pre-winter event of air emergency where the Air Quality Index (AQI) readings of main pollutant PM 2.5 breached the 400-mark of “very poor” and landed the air of Delhi, Punjab and other northern cities into the “hazardous” category.

Every year, Delhi and northern states battle hazardous air during the winter months of October to January due to plummeting temperatures, smoke, dust, low wind speed, vehicular emissions and crop stubble burning. This time, experts say that the condition is likely to get worse in the coming days.

Delhi recorded the worst air quality in India on Wednesday with a severe AQI of 418 while Noida and Gurugram also faced very poor levels.

Delhi residents woke up to ‘severe’ air quality on Thursday morning (November 14), a day after the national capital recorded the worst AQI in the country, with dense fog blanketing the NCR, reducing visibility.

On Thursday morning, Delhi's air quality hit severe levels, with AQI readings reaching as high as 473 in some areas. Despite the hazardous level, the CAQM opted to monitor conditions further before implementing Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).