Delhi-NCR pollution: Air quality deteriorates to ‘severe’ category, AQI crosses 400 mark in several places, know why GRAP-3 is not yet in force

Although air quality in the national capital remained in the 'very poor' category on Sunday morning, Delhi's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) further deteriorated to 392 as of 7 am and crossed the 400 mark at several places, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). With the pollution levels rising, the residents grappled with burning eyes, sore throats and itchy noses amid a thick, choking haze. The Graded Response Action Plan stage-II measures continue, and the stricter measures under Graded Response Action Plan stage-III are yet to be implemented.

Delhi-NCR AQI today

Several monitoring stations across the city recorded 'very poor' to 'severe' air quality, as Anand Vihar reported an AQI of 412, Alipur 414, Ashok Vihar 416, Bawana 436, Burari Crossing 430, Chandni Chowk 410, Dwarka Sector-8 381, ITO 420, Jahangirpuri 433, Mundka 420, Narela 419, Okhla Phase 2 405, Patparganj 425 Punjabi Bagh 415, RK Puram 421, Rohini 435 and Sonia Vihar 415, according to the CPCB live air quality index. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor', and 401-500 'severe'.

On Saturday, the air quality in the national capital remained in the 'very poor' category as Delhi's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) reading stood at 355, as of 8 am, rising to 343 by noon. By 4 pm, it settled at 361, and by 10 pm, the hourly AQI was 385 and 20 out of the 36 monitoring stations had turned severe. On Friday, the AQI was 322.

Delhi government measures to curb pollution

Since Diwali, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) has been reeling under the  'very poor' and 'severe' categories in several areas. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has already announced the doubling of parking fees across the national capital after the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage II was invoked due to deteriorating air quality. The Delhi Government completed two consecutive cloud seeding operations as part of its robust air quality management strategy. The cloud seeding scheduled to be held on Wednesday in the national capital was put on hold, given the insufficient moisture in the clouds.

Why has GRAP III not been implemented yet?

According to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Delhi's air quality has been comparatively better this November, so GRAP Stage 3 hasn't been enforced yet. Officials credit timely actions like dust control, road cleaning, and emission checks for the improvement. "Six out of the last seven days have recorded better air quality than last year," an official said as reported by PTI. Last year, Stage 3 was imposed on November 13. The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for the National Capital Region (NCR) is classified under four different stages of adverse air quality in Delhi: Stage I -- 'poor' (AQI 201-300); Stage II -- 'very poor' (AQI 301-400); Stage III -- 'severe' (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV -- 'severe plus' (AQI >450).