Citizens were asked to stay at home, keep doors and windows closed and avoid unnecessary travel, she said, adding that hospitals had been provided with smog meters.

To reduce vehicular pollution, 50 percent of office workers would work from home, Aurangzeb said.

The government also banned three-wheeled vehicles called rickshaws and halted construction work in some areas to reduce pollution levels. Factories and construction sites that fail to comply with these regulations could be closed, she said.