Smog seen over Kartavya Path, as air quality in Delhi was “very poor” with an air quality index (AQI) of 302 at 8 a.m. on Thursday.

As the air quality deteriorated in Delhi-NCR, the Centre on Thursday banned construction and demolition activities, plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel cars, and shifted classes for students up to grade five to hybrid mode.

The measures are part of Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan, a set of short-term emergency measures to reduce air pollution imposed by the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM). Delhi’s overall 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was 357 (very poor) at 4 p.m. on Thursday, up from 297 (poor) a day earlier, according to the Central Pollution Control Board daily bulletin.

“The air quality is likely to be in very poor category from January 10 to 11. It is likely to be in the poor category on January 12,” stated the Central government’s Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi.

The CAQM also ordered staggered timings for public offices and municipal bodies in Delhi and the districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Buddha Nagar (not the entire NCR).