As Delhi continues to reel from worsening air pollution, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has now advised private institutions to prioritize working from home.
This comes after AQI levels crossed the 400 mark in several parts of the city, putting Delhi in the “red zone” of air pollution levels.
It has also changed the working hours of Delhi government offices and Delhi Municipal Corporation offices in view of rising air pollution levels in the city.
The chief minister’s office issued a press release saying the decision was taken as a precautionary measure to curb rising pollution, ensuring that the pressure on the roads due to the large number of vehicles plying at once is reduced.
The decision was made at a meeting with senior representatives of the Department of the Environment. The government has decided that starting from 15 November 2025 to 15 February 2025, the working hours of the Delhi government and MCD will be changed in a phased manner.
This is because during the winter seasons, the level of pollutants in the national capital such as PM 2.5 and PM 10 far exceed the normal levels, thereby deteriorating the air quality and impacting public health.
How has the timing of Delhi Govt, MCD changed?
According to the timings proposed in the meeting, the new winter timings will operate in Delhi government offices from 10:00 am to 6:30 am instead of the current timings of 9:30 am to 6:00 pm.
MCD offices, on the other hand, will function from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm instead of the existing 9:00 am to 5:30 pm.
Air quality is deteriorating, the main factor being stubble burning
Air quality in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) has been deteriorating since Diwali, remaining in the ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ categories and finally falling to ‘hazardous’ territory with an AQI of 400 in some parts of the city.
The city’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI), which is reported at 4 pm every day, was reported at 361 on Saturday.
Among the monitoring stations that have reported more than 400 AQIs are 404 in Alipur, 402 in ITO, 406 in Nehru Nagar, 411 in Vivek Vihar, 420 in Wazirpur and 418 in Burari, according to Sameer app data provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Noida reported an AQI of 354, Greater Noida 336 and Ghaziabad 339 according to the CPCB.
On Friday, Delhi was ranked as the most polluted city in the country with an AQI of 322.
Stubble burning is the main cause of increasing air pollution in the capital. The Decision Support System (DSS) for forecasting air quality said 30 percent of Delhi’s pollution was caused by stubble burning, while 15 percent was from the transport sector.
According to satellite data, Punjab recorded 100 stubble burning cases on Friday, with Haryana witnessing 18 and Uttar Pradesh 164.
