India's Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) activated 25 pollution controls across the National Capital Region on Oct. 21 after Delhi's air quality reached the “poor” range, intensifying checks on vehicles and dust.
Delhi's daily average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 244 at 4:30 a.m. ET (2 p.m. in Delhi) and 245 at 6:30 a.m. ET (4 p.m. in Delhi), according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). CAQM classifies readings from 201 to 300 as poor.
The Stage I measures call for controls on road and construction dust, checks on visibly polluting vehicles and enforcement against open waste burning. They also call for stricter enforcement of pollution certificate rules.
Fuel sales were already subject to a separate regional restriction. CAQM had directed fuel stations across the National Capital Region to refuse vehicles without valid Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCCs), effective Oct. 1. The commission cited vehicle emissions as a reason for the measure.
A Sept. 28 announcement from India's Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change described a Delhi campaign to enforce the fuel rule at 500 stations equipped with automatic number plate recognition. Delhi officials agreed to pursue the campaign, and the ministry said stations that failed to comply would face action.
The same announcement included a plan to double Delhi's parking charges as a winter pollution measure. It gave no start date for the increase. Neither the parking plan nor the earlier fuel restriction was introduced by the Oct. 21 Stage I order.
CAQM said it would review air quality and forecasts before deciding whether further measures were needed.
