Elementary schools open in the capital IndiaNew Delhi this week and restrictions on certain jobs in the construction industry will be lifted, authorities announced today as pollution levels improved and reclassified from “severe” to “very poor”.

For the past few weeks, residents of the capital have been waking up to foggy gray skies.

As the air gets colder every winter, this city of 20 million people is shrouded in a yellowish and noxious smog fueled by clouds from open burning of agricultural waste, industry and traffic emissions.

Today, the air quality index at almost all control stations in the city is in the range of 300-400 points on the scale, or in the “very bad” category, which, according to experts, causes respiratory diseases with prolonged exposure.

However, there was an improvement from last week when the same index was 400-500, which was described as “heavy”.

“The rules for telecommuting have changed and offices are operating at full capacity as of today,” local environment minister Gopal Rai told reporters.

Elementary schools are due to open on Wednesday.

Last week, the central and state governments ordered the closure of primary schools, banned the use of diesel vehicles carrying non-essential goods, and suspended most construction and demolition work in the New Delhi metropolitan area.

Demolition and construction work is still banned, Rai said, but highway-related public works will be allowed.

However, the Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research System wrote on its website that air quality is likely to deteriorate later this week.

^{Source: APE-MEB, Reuters}