NEW DELHI: Thick smog blanketed Delhi on Friday as the city's air quality remained in the "severe" zone for the second consecutive day, primarily due to unfavourable meteorological conditions and raging farm fires in Punjab.
The overall air quality index (AQI) of Delhi stood at 445 at 2 pm.
An AQI of above 400 is considered "severe" which can affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing illnesses.
Almost all air quality monitoring stations reported "severe" air quality, while 13 of them logged an AQI of more than 450.
According to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, the concentration of lung-damaging fine particles known as PM2.5 was above 600 micrograms per cubic metre, around eight times the national standard of 60 micrograms per cubic metre, in many areas.
According to the World Health Organization, a 24-hour average PM2.5 concentration of up to 15 microgram per cubic metre is considered safe.
Alarmed by hazardous pollution levels in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said primary schools would be closed from Saturday in a bid to protect children.
At a press conference, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai ordered 50 per cent staff of the Delhi government to work from home, and said an advisory would be issued to private offices to follow suit.
Rai said schools would be asked to curtail outdoor activities of senior students.
In a bid to ramp up public transport, the government will also launch the 'Paryavaran Bus Service', which will include 500 privately-run CNG buses.
According to a study conducted by The Energy and Resources Institute in 2018, vehicular emissions account for around 40 per cent of the PM 2.5 pollution in the capital.
Revenue commissioners have been asked to prepare a plan for staggered timings of markets and offices, Rai said.
Delhi's 24-hour average AQI had jumped to 450, just a notch short of the 'severe plus' category, on Thursday, prompting the authorities to invoke the final stage of anti-pollution curbs under the Graded Response Action Plan, including a ban on non-BS VI diesel-run light motor vehicles.
The entry of trucks other than electric and CNG ones in Delhi is banned too. Those carrying essential commodities are exempted.
According to the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago's Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) released in June, the residents of Delhi stand to lose 10 years of life expectancy due to poor air quality.
An analysis conducted by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) in 2021 showed people in the capital breathe the worst air between November 1 and November 15 when stubble burning peaks.
The share of stubble burning in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution jumped to 34 per cent on Thursday, the highest this season so far, which experts said was the reason behind the thick layer of smog persisting over the Delhi-NCR.
Punjab on Thursday reported 2,666 farm fires. The number stood at 3,634 on Wednesday, the highest this season so far, 1,842 on Tuesday, 2,131 on Monday, 1,761 on Sunday, 1,898 on Saturday and 2,067 on Friday.
