A high-level meeting chaired by the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister warned that Delhi alone holds more than half of all vehicles in the National Capital Region, with 37% still falling under outdated BS I to BS III norms.
As winter set in and pollution levels spiked, Delhi’s air quality slipped into the ‘very poor’ category. Officials highlighted that Delhi has 1.57 crore of NCR’s 2.97 crore vehicles despite occupying just 2.7% of its land area.
Pollution worsened in the two weeks after the meeting due to stubble burning and vehicular emissions, pushing the AQI into the ‘severe’ range from November 11–13. Data also showed that while Delhi registered 4,419 electric two-wheelers in October, over 78,000 petrol two-wheelers were added in the same month.