New Delhi: Given the worsening air quality in Delhi-NCR, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) imposed stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Sunday. The directions will be effective from today, Monday (November 18) from 8 am. This move comes amid the significant rise in the national capital’s AQI, which crossed the 500-mark in several areas in the previous week.

On Monday, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) at 7 am, the AQI recorded in Anand Vihar (487), Chandni Chowk (444), IGI Airport-T3 (494), Dwarka (499) was recorded as “severe.”

The stage four restrictions were directed as the GRAP subcommittee held an urgent meeting on Sunday, which reviewed the current air quality, meteorological conditions, and forecasts from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) for the national capital.

The subcommittee had previously invoked Stage-I, Stage-II, and Stage-III actions on October 14, October 21, and November 14, respectively.

Delhi Schools Go Online as GRAP-IV Imposed

Starting Monday (November 18) all schools across Delhi will discontinue its physical classes except for Class 10 and Class 12.  In a tweet on X, the Delhi Chief Minister Atishi added that all schools will hold online classes until further notice.

“With the imposition of GRAP-4 from tmrw, physical classes shall be discontinued for all students, apart from Class 10 and 12. All schools will hold online classes, until further orders,” she wrote.

IMD Issues Orange Alert For Dense Fog in Delhi

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an “orange alert” warning for Delhi on Monday, saying that the national capital may witness “dense” to “very dense” fog that could reduce visibility to as low as 200 metres in several parts of the city and surrounding areas.

An IMD official, on Sunday, confirmed, “There are chances of dense to very dense fog in Delhi on Monday, with smog expected later in the day.” The alert comes as the national capital experiences one of its foggiest days of the season.

The weather agency forecast for Monday predicts that the fog and smog will affect airports, highways, and railway routes, leading to difficult driving conditions and slower travel times across the region.

Railways, Flights Likely to be Affected; IndiGo Issues Advisory

Amid the smog situation in Delhi, private airline  IndiGo on Sunday issued a travel advisory for its customers saying that the fog might affect visibility in the national capital which can also contribute in delayed flight schedules.

“#6ETravelAdvisory: Fog is currently affecting visibility in Delhi, which may result in slow moving traffic and delays in flight schedules,” IndiGo said in a post on X at 11.44 pm.

In a separate post at 10.14 pm, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said low visibility procedures are in progress at the airport and that flight operations were normal.

Meanwhile, Railway services are also likely to be affected by fog, such as delays and disruptions. As of now, no advisory has been issued by the Indian Railways.

Stage- IV of GRAP: What’s Allowed and What’s Not?

Under stage 4 of the GRAP here’s a list of things allowed and what’s not:

Allowed

• Educational Adjustments:

Schools shifted students from Classes 6 to 9 and Class 11 to online teaching.

Students in other classes could continue with offline learning, subject to school discretion.

• Workplace Operations:

Private offices in the National Capital Region (NCR) were directed to operate at 50 per cent capacity.

The remaining workforce was encouraged to work from home.Central government employees were advised to adopt work-from-home arrangements, subject to departmental approval.

• State-Specific Measures:

State governments in NCR were empowered to take additional measures, such as shutting down colleges, limiting non-essential commercial activities, or implementing odd-even vehicle rules to reduce vehicular emissions.

What’s Not Allowed:

• Truck Entry into Delhi:

All non-essential trucks were prohibited from entering Delhi.

Exceptions were made for trucks carrying essential goods like food and medicine.

Vehicles running on clean fuels, such as LNG, CNG, BS-VI diesel, or electricity, were exempted from the ban.

• Construction and Demolition Activities:

All public construction and demolition projects, including work on highways, roads, flyovers, pipelines, and power lines, were halted.

Private construction activities were also restricted under the ban.

• Non-Essential Light Commercial Vehicles:

Non-essential light commercial vehicles registered outside Delhi were barred from entering the city.

Electric vehicles (EVs) and those running on CNG or BS-VI diesel were allowed to operate.

• Older Diesel Goods Vehicles:

Delhi-registered BS-IV or older diesel medium and heavy goods vehicles were banned.

Exceptions were granted only to vehicles used for essential services, such as waste management or emergency supplies.