Delhi-NCR Air Pollution: Centre’s Air Quality Panel Invokes Anti-Pollution Measures Under GRAP III
New Delhi, December 16: The Centre’s air quality panel for Delhi-NCR Monday invoked restrictive measures under stage three of the air pollution control plan amid a sharp dip in air quality due to unfavourable meteorological conditions. Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index, recorded at 4 pm daily, stood at 379. At a review meeting, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) noted that Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) breached the 350 mark on Monday afternoon.
It also noted that the AQI may worsen owing to extremely calm wind and “buildup of an inversion layer adversely affecting the vertical mixing height”, the height above the surface throughout which a pollutant can be dispersed. Forecasts from the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology also indicate that the air quality may remain in the higher end of the “very poor” category owing to the continued unfavourable meteorological conditions. Delhi Air Pollution: GRAP 3 Measures Reinforced in NCR As AQI Drops.
Therefore, in an effort to prevent further deterioration of the air quality, it decided that all actions under stage III of the latest GRAP schedule issued by the commission on December 13 be implemented with “immediate effect in the entire NCR, in addition to actions under stages I and II”, the order read. According to the revised plan, schools and colleges in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar are mandatorily required to shift classes up to Class V to hybrid mode under GRAP Stage III. Students and parents will have the option to choose online education wherever it is available.
Stage III also entails a ban on non-essential diesel-operated medium goods vehicles with BS-IV or older standards within Delhi. Non-essential diesel light commercial vehicles of BS-IV or older standards, registered outside Delhi, are also not allowed to enter the city. Previously, such restrictions were applicable only to BS-III vehicles. Persons with disabilities are exempt from restrictions imposed on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel cars in Delhi and the districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar under GRAP stage III. Delhi Air Pollution: Air Quality Continues To Remain in Poor Quality in National Capital.
The Delhi and NCR state governments have also been directed to stagger timings for public offices and municipal bodies under stage III. The Centre may decide on similar staggered timings for its offices in Delhi-NCR. During winters, Delhi frequently enforces restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which categorises air quality into four stages — Stage I (Poor) with AQI between 201 and 300, Stage II (Very Poor) between 301 and 400, Stage III (Severe) between 401 and 450, and Stage IV (Severe Plus) for AQI above 450.
Unfavourable meteorological conditions, combined with vehicular emissions, paddy-straw burning, firecrackers and other local pollution sources, contribute to hazardous air quality levels in Delhi-NCR during winters. Doctors say breathing in the polluted air of Delhi is equivalent to the harmful effects of smoking approximately 10 cigarettes a day. Prolonged exposure to high levels of pollution can cause or exacerbate respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and dramatically raise the risk of cardiovascular disease, they said.
