NEW DELHI, 14 Nov

Delhi was engulfed in a thick blanket of fog for the second straight day on Thursday, with the air quality index (AQI) recorded in the 'severe' category, raising health concerns among residents. The Central Pollution Control Board reported that the AQI at 9am stood at 428, well within the 'severe' range, with 32 out of 39 monitoring stations in the city recording readings above 400. Notable areas affected include Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, and IGI Airport.

Visibility at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport dropped, leading to 300 flights being delayed.

With pollution reaching alarming levels, the central pollution watchdog imposed restrictions under the third stage of the GRAP in Delhi-NCR on Thursday, including a ban on construction and demolition activities.

The restrictions will come into force from Friday.

Under the third stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), all inter-state buses from NCR states -- except electric vehicles, CNG vehicles and BS-VI diesel buses -- will be prohibited from entering Delhi, alongside a stringent ban on construction and demolition activities, suspension of mining-related activities, consideration of shifting to online classes for students up to Class 5 and daily water sprinkling on major roads.

Under the third stage of the GRAP, there would be restrictions on the plying of BS-lll petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles in Delhi and the districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar.

On Wednesday, the city marked its worst air quality levels of the season, with a 24-hour AQI reaching 418. PTI