Delhi Pollution: After reeling under the ‘very poor’ category for four consecutive days this week, the air quality in the national capital has worsened further. The AQI was recorded at 409 on Friday at 6 am which comes under ‘severe’ category. Delhi residents woke up to a thick layer of fog and reduced visibility. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued yellow alert for dense fog today. The maximum and minimum temperatures will remain 20 and 6 degrees Celsius respectively.
AQI Across Delhi
Wazirpur (476), Patparganj (446), R K Puram (427), Rohini (457), Ashok Vihar (456), Bawana (407), Dwarka-Sector 8 (442), Jahangirpuri (449), ITO (430), Mundka (450), Nehru Nagar (441), Narela (412), Najafgarh (391).
GRAP III Measures In Effect
Delhi’s air quality levels started fluctuating yesterday when it crossed 350 by evening. CAQM In compliance with Supreme Court’s previous order, invoked actions under Stage III of GRAP on Thursday. The centre’s air quality panel said, “The AQI of Delhi which was recorded as 297 on 08.01.2025, exhibited a sharp increasing trend and has been recorded 357 at 4:0O pm on 09.01.2025 owing to calm winds and foggy conditions.”
CAQM added, “The Sub Committee on GRAP hereby decide to invoke all actions under Stage-III (‘Severe’ Air Quality of Delhi) of revised Schedule of GRAP, with immediate effect in right earnest by all the agencies concerned in Delhi-NCR, in addition to the Stage-l and II actions already in force.”
Furthermore, it has advised all the agencies to keep strict vigil and intensify measures of the revised GRAP schedule to ensure that the AQI levels do not slip further.
Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has urged the citizens of NCR to follow steps mentioned in the Citizen Charter of Stage-III in addition to that of Stage-I and Stage-II of revised GRAP.
Will GRAP IV Measures Return?
The apex court had earlier instructed the implementation of Stage-III measures if AQI breached 350 mark. ‘We must record here that if the Commission finds that the AQI goes above 350, as a precautionary measure, Stage-III measures will have to be immediately implemented. If the AQI crosses 400 on a given day, Stage-IV measures will have to be reintroduced,” said the Supreme Court.
Notably, Stage IV (‘Severe+’) measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR was last implemented on December 16 when AQI had touched 401 on December 16. It was revoked on December 24 after following an improvement in air quality.
Observing the previous pattern and the Supreme Court’s order, it is likely that GRAP IV measures will be implemented if the AQI worsens further and remains in the severe category.
Meanwhile, CAQM has assured that the sub-committee is closely monitoring the situation and will review the situation from time to time for further appropriate decision depending upon the AirQuality in Delhi and forecast made by IMD/IITM.
#WATCH | Visibility reduced to zero as a blanket of dense fog witnessed in parts of Delhi-NCR
(Visuals from Rajokri area) pic.twitter.com/Pw89P7oavt
— ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2025
#WATCH | Delhi wakes up to dense fog as coldwave conditions prevail.
(Visuals from ITO) pic.twitter.com/C0ytleBUFj
— ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2025
#WATCH | Visibility reduced to zero as a blanket of dense fog witnessed in parts of Delhi-NCR
(Visuals from Barapullah flyover) pic.twitter.com/LYxczfspaz
— ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2025
Also Read: CAQM Reimposes GRAP III Measures In Delhi NCR Amidst Rising Pollution Levels
