"Don't Even Think About Going to the Office"... Why Is India Mandating 'Forced Remote Work'?

To Be Enforced for Three Months Starting in November
Delhi Parking Fees to Double

This winter, India will implement measures mandating 50% remote work in the capital region, which is considered one of the most polluted areas in the world.

The photo is unrelated to any specific expressions in the article. Pixabay

According to Bloomberg and other sources on September 30 (local time), the Indian government plans to enforce 50% mandatory remote work for both government and private sector employees in the Delhi capital region, including New Delhi, from November 1 until January 31 of the following year. Construction projects that generate dust will also be prohibited. During this period, parking fees in the Delhi area will be doubled, and enforcement against vehicles without emission testing certificates will be strengthened.

Bhupender Yadav, India's Minister of Environment, and Rekha Gupta, Chief Minister of Delhi, jointly inspected preparations for the comprehensive winter air pollution response measures the previous day. The Indian government has urged relevant authorities to inspect 37 high-priority air pollution management zones and complete road repair projects by the middle of this month. Officials have also been instructed to establish an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered monitoring system.

Air Pollution Worsens During Winter Due to Stagnant Air

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The capital region of India is notorious for severe air pollution caused by emissions from thermal power plants and automobile exhaust. In particular, last March, New Delhi was identified by Swiss air quality analysis firm IQAir as having the worst air quality among all the capitals globally. At times, the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5)—which can cause cancer—in New Delhi has reached up to 65 times the World Health Organization (WHO)’s recommended daily average of 15㎍/㎥.

Major causes of air pollution include exhaust from aging vehicles, pollutants from coal-fired power plants and factories, and the burning of farmland and waste in rural areas. In winter, when temperatures are low and winds are weak, vehicle emissions and other pollutants stagnate over the Delhi capital region, resulting in even more severe air pollution.

Cases of deaths linked to air pollution also continue to rise. According to a report released last year in The Lancet Planetary Health—a sister journal to The Lancet—India recorded 3.8 million air pollution-related deaths between 2009 and 2019. While the Indian government has tried various measures such as deploying water mist spray vehicles to reduce fine dust, these efforts have not produced significant results.

Experts have also expressed concerns that the new measures will be insufficient to address the capital region's winter air pollution. Manoj Kumar of the Finland-based think tank CREA (Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air) pointed out that the current plan merely integrates previous restrictions and focuses on PM10 rather than PM2.5, which poses greater health risks.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.