The air did its usual winter thing. It got heavy. It got thick. Let’s be real, the AQI went straight past ‘Very Poor’ and slammed into ‘Severe’ territory, so of course the official machinery had to kick in.
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The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) flagged it. And then GRAP-3 followed.
Here’s the thing, this isn’t some new advisory. This is the 50% rule. Both government offices and private offices—they’ve been told to cut their physical staff down to half. The rest? Work-from-home (WFH) mode.
What does this look like on the ground?
The roads should be lighter. That’s the idea, anyway. Cut the vehicular emissions during the peak hours—a major contributor.
The government already called a public holiday for Guru Tegh Bahadur’s Purab. And then the GRAP-3 WFH mandate stacked right on top of it.
This specific 50% rule used to be for GRAP-4 (the absolute worst level). The Supreme Court saw the air getting bad earlier every year. And then they forced the CAQM to move the strict rules sooner. Now it’s mandatory at GRAP-3. Proactive action, they call it.
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They are already banning kids from playing outside at schools. The Environment Minister is out there talking about “full seriousness” and “round-the-clock monitoring.”
But what are the people supposed to do? Avoid open burning. Report violations on the Green Delhi app. It’s the same routine every winter. The air is toxic now. The biggest restriction is still just breathing.
The AQI is bouncing around 400 at too many monitoring stations. The smog is trapping everything. The city is trying to function at half strength, gasping for air. It’s an ongoing emergency.
Also read:Justice Surya Kant Sworn In as 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI)
