Delhi’s new winter anti-pollution restrictions triggered heavy traffic congestion at the national capital’s borders on Sunday, as vehicles queued up for emission checks. The traffic snarls coincided with a deterioration in air quality, with Delhi’s Air Quality Index () rising to 261 in the ‘poor’ category — the worst reading of the season so far and the highest in 198 days.
Heavy congestion was reported at several entry points, particularly along the Delhi-Gurugram and Delhi-Noida borders, where traffic police and enforcement personnel were checking vehicles entering the national capital.
Long queues formed near Municipal Corporation of Delhi () toll booths and other entry points across the National Capital Region (NCR). Commuters faced bumper-to-bumper traffic as officials stopped vehicles that did not meet the prescribed emission standards.
Delhi’s AQI stood at 261 on Sunday, matching the reading recorded on July 12. The index had last crossed the 250 mark on April 17, when it stood at 263.
Of the 57 air-quality monitoring stations across the city, 22 recorded ‘very poor’ air quality, while 21 were in the ‘poor’ category. The remaining 14 stations reported ‘moderate’ air quality.
Jahangirpuri recorded the highest AQI at 378, approaching the ‘severe’ category, which begins at 401. PM2.5 was the predominant pollutant in the national capital.
The deterioration came on the first day of a series of special winter pollution-control measures. These include restrictions on vehicles registered outside Delhi that comply with BS-IV or older emission standards, a ban on dust-generating outdoor construction activities, a doubling of parking charges and a 50% cap on physical attendance in government and private offices.
The measures will remain in force for varying periods between November 1 and February 28. They are intended to curb vehicular emissions, dust pollution and traffic congestion during the winter months.
To ensure compliance, enforcement teams are conducting round-the-clock checks. Vehicles violating the restrictions are being identified through automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras installed at entry points and other key locations.
The Delhi transport department has deployed around 250 enforcement personnel at key entry points, toll plazas and identified pollution hotspots.
A total of 39 teams have been stationed at 13 major toll plazas, including DND, Rajokri on NH-48, Ghazipur, Singhu border, Tikri and Badarpur.
Officials have been directed to take action against vehicles that do not comply with the restrictions. This includes issuing e-challans and impounding vehicles in accordance with the rules.
The traffic congestion also prompted reactions on social media, with commuters expressing frustration over long queues at the borders and questioning whether the restrictions would lead to a meaningful improvement in air quality.
“If you are travelling to Delhi in the next few days, you will have to bear the brunt of this type of traffic. Plan accordingly. Delhi-NCR’s air quality will have zero improvement because of this step,” a social media user posted.
Another commuter said: “Three hours stuck at the Delhi border. What is the use of us even coming? The event I was supposed to attend was already halfway through. These restrictions are meant to reduce pollution, but commuters are being left stranded in endless traffic jams. And the funny thing is, it may not even prove effective in improving air quality.”
The winter restrictions also prohibit dust-generating demolition and outdoor civil construction activities from November 1 to January 31. Specified essential public infrastructure projects are exempt, subject to prescribed conditions.
A complete ban on construction and demolition activities, barring specified exemptions, will also be imposed from December 10 to January 20.
Parking charges at authorised parking lots across Delhi have been doubled from November 1 to February 28. Government and private offices have also been asked to limit physical attendance to 50%, with the remaining employees working from home. Essential and emergency services are exempt from the attendance restrictions.
In a move aimed at reducing traffic congestion, MCD offices will operate from 8.30 am to 5 pm, while Delhi government offices will function from 10 am to 6.30 pm.
According to the Decision Support System (DSS) for air quality management, transport emissions accounted for 16.4% of Delhi’s pollution contribution on Sunday.
The estimates put the contribution from Delhi’s industries at 3%, residential sources at 4%, construction at 2.2%, energy at 1.2%, road dust at 1.2% and other sectors at 1.1%.
Among neighbouring NCR districts, Jhajjar contributed 9.2% to Delhi’s pollution, followed by Gurugram at 4.8%, Bhiwani at 2.7%, Rohtak at 2.2% and Bulandshahr at 0.3%, according to the DSS estimates.
Stubble burning accounted for up to 18.5% of Delhi’s pollution, while other sectors contributed 24.3%, the estimates showed.
The Air Quality Early Warning System has forecast that Delhi’s air quality is likely to remain in the ‘poor’ category from November 2 to November 3. The outlook for the following six days indicates that air quality is likely to remain in the ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ categories.
With winter setting in and pollution levels expected to remain elevated, the effectiveness of the new restrictions will be closely monitored in the coming days. The traffic congestion at Delhi’s borders has already raised questions about enforcement and traffic management, as well as the impact of the measures on commuters.
