Delhi CM announces staggered working hours for govt employees from November 15 amid air pollution woes

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday announced stagged working hours for government and municipal corporation (MCD) employees in the national capital from November 15 in view of the deteriorating air quality index (AQI) in the city-state.  

Delhi government offices would now operate from 10 am to 6.30 pm, while MCD offices will function from 8.30 am to 5 pm. Currently, Delhi government and MCD offices operate from 9.30 am and 6 pm, and 9 am to 5.30 pm, respectively. 

In its statement, the Delhi government said since there is currently only a 30-minute gap between the two schedules, the city experiences heavy traffic congestion both in the morning and the evening, which aggravates the air pollution in the national capital.

Delhi's AQI remains in 'very poor' category

The overall air quality in Delhi remained in the 'very poor' category on Friday after the AQI was recorded in 309, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Out of the 38 monitoring stations in the national capital, the AQI was in 'very poor' category in 26 of them. Bawana remained the most polluted where the AQI was 366, followed by Jahangirpuri at 348.  

The AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor, and 401-500 is severe, as per the CPCB. 

Temperature dips in Delhi

Meanwhile, the temperature also dipped in Delhi on Friday morning, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) saying that the national capital recorded a minimum temperature of 12.7 degrees Celsius, 1.6 notches below normal. On the other hand, the relative humidity was around 67 per cent.

A thin layer of fog was also there in Delhi, leading to low visibility in some parts of the city-state.