Delhi shut down schools until further notice, urged people to work from home and banned non-essential trucks from entering the Indian capital due to dangerous levels of air pollution.
One of the world’s most polluted cities and home to some 20 million people, Delhi is cloaked every winter in a thick blanket of smog.
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On Saturday, the Indian government had ordered schools to close for a week and banned construction work for four days.
But in an order passed late Tuesday, the Commission for Air Quality Management for Delhi said all education institutions should remain shut until further notice.
Lorries except those carrying essential goods are barred from entering the capital until November 21 and most construction activities were halted, the order said.
“Anti-smog guns” and water sprinklers were ordered to operate at hotspots at least three times a day.
Six of the 11 thermal power plants within a 300-kilometre radius were told to cease operations until further notice.
The commission also said that at least 50 percent of staff employed in government should work from home and encouraged those in private firms to follow suit.
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The order comes days after the Delhi government pushed back against a call by India’s Supreme Court to declare a “pollution lockdown,” a first which would restrict the city’s population to their homes.
