A day before Diwali, the Centre’s air quality panel for Delhi-NCR imposed Stage II restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), as pollution levels in the capital continued to rise.
“The AQI of Delhi has shown an increasing trend since morning and has been recorded as 296 at 4:00 PM and 302 at 7:00 PM. The forecast by IMD/IITM also predicts further deterioration of AQI in coming days,” stated the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
In its official statement, the Commission said, “The Sub-Committee, accordingly decides to invoke all actions under Stage-II (‘Very Poor’ Air Quality) of the extant GRAP in the entire NCR, with immediate effect, in addition to the Stage-I actions already in force.”
This move follows six consecutive days of ‘poor’ air quality in Delhi, with Sunday’s AQI nearing the ‘very poor’ threshold. According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily bulletin, the city recorded an AQI of 296 on Sunday evening. In comparison, the figures stood at 268 on Saturday and 254 and 245 on the preceding days.
Neighbouring cities also witnessed deteriorating air conditions, with Noida and Ghaziabad already falling in the ‘very poor’ category, while Faridabad recorded ‘moderate’ air quality levels.
Despite the worsening air, green firecrackers have been permitted in the capital “on a test case basis”, raising concerns over further degradation during the festive period.