Smog Crisis Deepens: Delhi Govt Mandates Work From Home for Half the Workforce

Amid Delhi’s Toxic Air Quality, Offices to Work at 50% Strength, WFH for Rest

New Delhi: With Delhi’s air quality once again plunging into hazardous territory, the Delhi government on Monday issued a sweeping order directing all government departments and private offices to operate at no more than 50% staff strength, with the remaining employees mandatorily working from home.

As toxic smog tightened its grip over the capital, the administration said the step was essential to curb vehicular emissions and reduce peak-hour traffic volumes — one of the biggest contributors to winter pollution in Delhi-NCR.

The order, issued by the Department of Environment & Forests, stressed strict compliance.

“All private offices functioning within NCT of Delhi shall operate with not more than 50% staff physically attending the workplace. The remaining staff shall mandatorily work from home,”
the directive read.

WFH, Staggered Timings, and Traffic Control

The government urged private organisations to:

• Implement staggered working hours,
• Enforce WFH wherever possible,
• Minimise vehicular movement linked to office commutes.

Meanwhile, critical sectors will continue uninterrupted. Hospitals, health facilities, fire services, electricity, water, sanitation, public transport, and other essential services have been exempted.

Officials say the restrictions are part of a broader strategy to prevent the AQI from breaching deep into the ‘severe’ category.

Delhi’s Air Quality On the Brink

Delhi woke up to yet another grim air-quality bulletin, with the city’s average AQI recorded at 382 on Monday — just shy of entering the ‘severe’ category.
Data from 15 monitoring stations showed AQI readings above 400, indicating severely hazardous conditions.

The pollution pattern has remained consistently dangerous over the past week:

• Sunday: AQI 391
• Saturday: AQI 370
• Friday: AQI 374
• Thursday: AQI 391
• Wednesday: AQI 392
• Tuesday: AQI 374
• Monday (previous week): AQI 351

Under CPCB air-quality standards:

• 301–400 is ‘very poor’
• 401–500 is ‘severe’

Officials warned that the current trajectory risks pushing large parts of the capital into an emergency-level smog situation.

Government Says Monitoring ‘Round-the-Clock’

Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, as reported by HT, said pollution-control measures were being implemented “with full seriousness and constant monitoring.”

The city has already:

• Enforced staggered timings for MCD and GNCTD offices
• Activated Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) since November 11
• Tightened checks on construction activity and industrial emissions

Officials say stricter steps may follow if air quality deteriorates further.

Capital Adjusts to New Normal: Smog & Work-From-Home

As the smog layer thickens, residents brace for disrupted routines, traffic rerouting, and extended WFH weeks. With meteorologists predicting sluggish wind speeds over the next 48 hours, pollution levels may remain high.

For now, Delhi’s forced half-capacity workforce marks yet another season where the world’s most polluted capital city finds itself battling the familiar — and worsening — winter smog crisis.