Reducing Air Pollution, New Delhi Implements Odd-Even Rules to Limit Vehicle Use

Illustration of air pollution in India. (Wikimedia Commons/Prami.ap90)

JAKARTA - New Delhi authorities plan to limit vehicle use next week, to curb increasing air pollution, as air quality worsens in the Indian capital for three consecutive days.

New Delhi ranks among the cities with the highest levels of pollution each year near the start of winter, when calm winds and low temperatures trap pollutants from a variety of sources, including vehicles, industry, construction dust, and burnt crop residue in nearby fields.

A thick haze of smoke enveloped the federal secretariat and presidential palace in the heart of the city on Monday morning, reducing visibility in other areas, as public anger grew over dangerous air quality, while the closure of primary schools in the city was extended until November 10.

The local government said it would enforce odd-even vehicle regulations from November 13-20 to reduce pollution levels that are expected to rise after the Hindu festival of Diwali on November 12, where firecrackers are often set off despite a ban.

With this rule, vehicles with odd numbers are only allowed to ply on the road on odd dates, while those with even numbers on even dates.

Environmental experts have previously said the regulations, which have been enforced repeatedly with some variations since 2016, are more effective in reducing road congestion and less effective in reducing pollution.

"In view of increasing pollution, odd-even will be implemented in Delhi," said Gopal Rai, the local environment minister, as quoted by Reuters on November 7, adding that a meeting would be held with the police and Transport Department on Tuesday to decide on its implementation.

Earlier, air quality was in "severe" condition for the third consecutive day in the city on Monday, making it the second most polluted city in the world, after Lahore in Pakistan, according to a real-time compilation carried out by Swiss IQAir.

The vehicle restrictions are in addition to a ban on construction work for public projects in the national capital region, as well as restrictions on the entry of trucks and heavy vehicles in Delhi, imposed by the federal pollution control watchdog on Sunday.