Delhi Air Pollution: Vehicle Entry Ban, 50% Work from Home from November 1

In news

• Delhi's winter action plan against air pollution came into force on 1 November 2026.
• It targets the main winter sources: vehicles, construction dust and open burning.

Key measures

Measure	Period
Entry ban on non-BS-VI vehicles registered outside Delhi	1 Nov 2026 to 31 Jan 2027
50% work from home in government and private offices	1 Nov 2026 to 31 Jan 2027
Ban on dust-generating construction and demolition	1 Nov 2026 to 31 Jan 2027
Complete ban on construction and demolition	10 Dec 2026 to 20 Jan 2027
Parking charges doubled (Metro parking and EVs exempt)	1 Nov 2026 to 28 Feb 2027
"No PUC, No Fuel" using ANPR cameras	Ongoing

• Exempted: BS-VI petrol and diesel vehicles, CNG and electric vehicles, and emergency vehicles.
• Office timings are staggered to reduce peak-hour traffic.
• Through-trucks must use the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways.

Why Delhi's air worsens in winter

• Temperature inversion: cold air near the ground traps pollutants.
• Low wind speed: pollutants do not disperse.
• Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana adds smoke.
• Local sources: vehicles, road dust, construction, industry and waste burning.
• Landlocked geography: the Indo-Gangetic Plain traps air between the Himalayas and the Aravallis.

Key concepts

• PM2.5 and PM10: fine particles below 2.5 and 10 micrometres. PM2.5 enters the lungs and bloodstream.
• BS-VI (Bharat Stage VI): emission norms based on Euro VI. Applied nationwide from 1 April 2020. India skipped BS-V.
• PUC certificate: proof that a vehicle meets emission limits, required under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.
• ANPR: Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras for enforcement.

Static connect: institutions and laws

• Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and Adjoining Areas: statutory body under the CAQM Act, 2021. It replaced the EPCA.
• Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP): emergency measures in stages, based on AQI.

GRAP stage	AQI	Category
Stage I	201 to 300	Poor
Stage II	301 to 400	Very Poor
Stage III	401 to 450	Severe
Stage IV	Above 450	Severe+

• National Air Quality Index (2014): covers 8 pollutants.
• National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), 2019: city-wise plans to cut particulate pollution.
• Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
• Article 21: the Supreme Court has read the right to clean air into the right to life.

Way forward

• Shift to an airshed approach, since pollution crosses State borders.
• Provide alternatives to stubble burning: Happy Seeder, bio-decomposers and ex-situ use of straw.
• Expand public transport and electric mobility.
• Strengthen State Pollution Control Boards.
• Move from seasonal emergency action to year-round source control.

Exam relevance: UPSC Prelims and GS-3 (Environment, Pollution); TGPSC, APPSC (Environment).