After Gurugram, Delhi Govt Announces Work From Home For 50% Employees To Reduce Pollution

On Tuesday, Gurugram announced the implementation of work-from-home for all private institutions and corporate offices in the city starting November 20.

The Delhi government has announced work from home for half of its employees amid 'severe' air quality in the national capital. The government will hold a meeting at 1 pm today to discuss its implementation, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday.

"To reduce pollution, Delhi government decided to work from home in government offices. 50% employees will work from home," he wrote on X. 

Gurugram Announces Work From Home For All Corporate Offices

Gurugram has announced the implementation of work-from-home for all private institutions and corporate offices in the city starting November 20.

"In view of the directive from the Commission for Air Quality Management (NCR), all private institutions & corporate offices in Gurugram have been advised to implement 50% work-from-home policy starting 20th Nov 2024 until further notice," read a notification issued by the office of Deputy Commissioner of Gurugram.

Delhi's AQI Sees Slight Improvement

The air quality index in Delhi on Wednesday dropped to 424 from 488 at 9 am the previous day, but the air remained hazardous. On Monday, Delhi recorded its second-worst air quality since 2015 and the air quality index at the same time was recorded at 484. The government implemented Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) the same day.

Amid a blame game between the ruling AAP and BJP, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai urged the Centre to convene an emergency meeting to deal with the situation and approve inducing artificial rain over the national capital. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, Monday's reading was the second-worst air quality recorded since AQI tracking began in 2015.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good,’ 51-100 ‘satisfactory,’ 101-200 ‘moderate,’ 201-300 ‘poor,’ 301-400 ‘very poor,’ 401-450 ‘severe,’ and above 450 ‘severe plus.’ At 4 pm on Tuesday, CPCB data recorded PM2.5 level at 307, which was the prominent pollutant. The PM2.5 particles with have a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, roughly the width of a human hair.