New Delhi implemented stricter pollution controls on Sunday, including doubled parking fees and work-from-home orders for government and private offices to reduce traffic emissions. Authorities will block vehicles that fail emission standards and ban all dust-generating demolition and construction work immediately.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's office announced that "Delhi's Winter Action Plan comes into effect with stricter pollution controls, stronger enforcement and 24×7 monitoring" starting November 1.
The capital has also banned trash burning and restricted food stalls from using coal or firewood. Previous years' similar measures have failed to prevent annual smog from November through January, when cooler temperatures trap pollutants near the ground.
Vehicles account for 23% of Delhi's winter pollution, while biomass burning including crop fires contributes 20%, according to India's environment ministry. Industry and coal-fired power plants contribute about 9%.
PM2.5 particles, which can penetrate deep into lungs and bloodstream, frequently exceed 300 micrograms per cubic meter during peak winter months, roughly 20 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily limit. Last year's peak reached 846 micrograms per cubic meter, 56 times the WHO guideline. On Sunday, monitors recorded 201 micrograms per cubic meter, over 13 times the safe limit.
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.