Delhi rolls out new anti-pollution measures to get ahead of toxic winter smog
Delhi has doubled parking fees and ordered half of government and private office staff to work from home as it tries to curb the toxic smog that settles over the Indian capital every winter.
The restrictions, part of the city's Winter Action Plan, came into force on Sunday, and cover the period when cooler air traps pollutants close to the ground, from November to January.
"From November 1 … Delhi's Winter Action Plan comes into effect with stricter pollution controls, stronger enforcement and 24×7 monitoring," the office of Rekha Gupta, Delhi's chief minister, said in a statement.
"We humbly request all Delhiites to follow the guidelines and contribute toward making Delhi's air cleaner and healthier."
Parking charges at authorised sites are doubled until 28 February, except at car parks run by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, and the aim is to discourage the use of private cars. Half of the staff at government and private offices must work from home, with staggered office hours, until 31 January.
Vehicles registered outside Delhi that do not meet the latest national emissions standard, known as BS-VI, are barred from entering the city from 1 November to 31 January, and a rule introduced on 1 October denies fuel to vehicles without a valid pollution certificate.
A man waits at a bus stop amid smoggy conditions in New Delhi (AFP/Getty)
A ban on construction and demolition work that creates dust applies during the peak winter period, from 10 December to 20 January, and Ms Gupta has said that building continued at some sites last winter despite restrictions.
The city has also banned rubbish burning and restricted food stalls that use coal or firewood over the past month.
Similar efforts in previous years have done little to prevent the annual smog.
Vehicles account for 23 per cent of Delhi's winter pollution and burning of biomass, including crop stubble in neighbouring states, for 20 per cent, according to India's environment ministry. Industry, including coal-fired power plants, contributes about 9 per cent.
Levels of PM2.5, tiny particles that can cause cancer and penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream, often exceed 300 micrograms per cubic metre of air in peak winter, about 20 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily limit of 15. Last year they peaked at 846, or 56 times the limit.
Monitors recorded 201 on Sunday, more than 13 times the limit, a reading that was probably helped by intermittent rain over the past few days.
A 2024 study in The Lancet Planetary Health estimated that 3.8 million deaths in India between 2009 and 2019 were linked to air pollution.
