Delhi’s Air Quality Remains ‘Very Poor’ For 2nd Consecutive Day
New Delhi continues to face severe air pollution, with the air quality index (AQI) reaching 398 on Sunday morning. The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR-India) recorded this ‘very poor’ AQI at 7:15 am. Other areas in Delhi also experienced similar conditions, with Anand Vihar recording an AQI of 336, Alipur at 363, ITO at 329, and Bawana at 371.
The recent improvement in air quality led to the revocation of Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Saturday. However, Stages I to III of the GRAP will still be enforced in order to prevent the AQI from reaching the ‘Severe’ category.
In a positive development, all government and private schools in Delhi will reopen on Monday as pollution levels have declined. The decision was announced by the Delhi government. The Sub-Committee responsible for reviewing the air quality parameters stated that the average AQI on November 17 was 405 but has since started to decline and show improvement. The forecasts by IMD/ IITM also do not indicate any significant deterioration in the air quality of Delhi-NCR in the coming days.
The Central pollution watchdog reported an AQI of 322 (very poor) recorded at 2 pm on Saturday, which is significantly below the threshold for invoking Stage-IV actions under the GRAP. However, preventive measures under all stages of the GRAP are still being implemented, and there is a possibility of sustaining the improvement in AQI.
The forecast by IMD/ITM does not indicate any further deterioration in air quality. Various agencies and pollution control boards have been advised to strictly implement and intensify actions under the revised GRAP in the entire NCR region.
