Key Points
The sudden, significant increase in pollution levels occurred due to highly unfavourable meteorological conditions and a sharp rise in stubble burning incidents in neighbouring states...
When the severe-plus stage is reached, it requires the government to initiate all emergency measures -- which include a ban on polluting trucks, a ban on commercial four-wheelers and a full stop to all types of construction activities, etc, among other things...
While the critical stage has already been reached in Delhi, the full suite of mandated emergency measures have yet to be initiated..
Measures enforced so far include a ban on non-essential construction work and some categories of polluting vehicles, which were put in place on November 2. Exemptions, however, were made for the projects for the railway services, metro services, airports, inter-state bus terminals, defence-related activities, healthcare-related activities...
As the ground situation clearly reflects, the measures introduced so far have not had the desired effect on the rising pollution graph in Delhi, the city which, as per a recent report, has highest levels of PM 2.5 (Particulate Matter) in India...
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