The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has revoked Stage-III pollution control measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) after the region’s air quality showed consistent improvement, officials announced on Thursday.
The development came two days after CAQM, the centre’s pollution watchdog, revoked curbs under Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR.
According to the CAQM order, the AQI in Delhi has been improving owing to favourable meteorological conditions. The commission cited a forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) indicating that AQI in the Delhi-NCR area is likely to remain in the “moderate” to “poor” category in the coming days.
When is GRAP III enforced?
Stage-III of GRAP is typically enforced when air quality reaches “severe” levels, with AQI between 401 and 450. It includes significant restrictions such as limits on vehicular traffic, especially BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles, curbs on high-dust construction and demolition activities, and other measures to reduce pollutant emissions. Removal of these controls means that BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles are once again permitted to operate on Delhi-NCR roads.
Why was GRAP III rolled back?
Officials explained that sustained improvement in air readings over recent days played a key role in the rollback. Data from monitoring stations showed the AQI declining steadily, prompting CAQM’s GRAP sub-committee to conclude that the immediate need for the most stringent measures had lessened. However, authorities also noted that lower-level actions under GRAP Stages I and II would remain in force and even be intensified where necessary, Times of India reported.
What is a good AQI?
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.
Current weather condition in Delhi
On the weather front, the minimum temperature in Delhi settled at 6.3 degrees Celsius, 1.2 degrees below the season’s average, and the maximum temperature is likely to hover around 25 degrees Celsius.
Palam logged a minimum of 8 degrees Celsius, down by 1.3 notches, while Lodhi Road recorded 6.7 degrees Celsius, also a decline of 1.3 notches, Hindustan Times reported.