Delhi's air quality plunged to 'severe plus' for the first time this year on Sunday night, forcing the government to implement Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) - an anti-pollution plan. The GRAP-4 will come into effect at 8 am Monday onwards.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) data, Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) was 481 at 6 am. Of the 35 monitoring stations in the national capital, most recorded over 400 AQI, with Dwarka reporting the highest at 499.
A dense blanket of smog has gripped the national capital for the sixth consecutive day, with visibility plunging to 150 metres. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) also issued an 'orange' alert for "dense fog" today.
Under GRAP 4, there is a ban on construction and demolition activities, including linear public projects such as highways, roads, flyovers, overbridges, power transmission, and pipelines.
Here is a list of major projects in Delhi that will be impacted due to GRAP-4 restrictions:
The work on making six underpasses and bypasses in Delhi will be delayed. These include three underpasses to make Mukarba Chowk and Haiderpur Metro Road jam-free.
The underpass to go to the Ring Road from Bhairon Marg near Pragati Maidan has also been put on hold.
The work of Barapula Elevated Corridor Phase-3 in front of Mayur Vihar Phase-1, Yamuna Khadar, is also likely to be affected.
The construction of four new hospitals across the national capital will likely be delayed.
Under the GRAP-4, a ban has been imposed on Delhi-registered BS-IV or older diesel medium and heavy goods vehicles. All trucks and light commercial vehicles registered outside Delhi will not be allowed to enter the national capital, except for those carrying essential commodities or providing essential services
Additionally, all schools have been shifted online, except for Classes 10 and 12. Public and private offices have also been asked to work at 50 per cent capacity and the rest have been recommended to work from home.
According to a government release, the state government may consider additional emergency measures such as the closure of non-emergency commercial activities, and permitting the running of vehicles on an odd-even basis of registration numbers.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced in the assembly on Wednesday that the Delhi government will introduce a new policy for issuing Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates to vehicles from other states, in a bid to tackle air pollution.
Children exposed to higher levels of air pollution in early and mid-childhood may have weaker connections between key brain regions that can highly impact their thinking and controlling capacity, according to a study.
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Sirsa has accused Arvind Kejriwal's AAP - in power before the BJP won the February election - of allowing more than 1.08 lakh vehicles to run on city roads despite each emitting high levels of carbon monoxide.
An integrated command and control centre has been proposed in the 2025-26 Delhi budget, presented by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday, for real-time monitoring of air quality, water pollution, noise levels, and waste management.
As part of broader strategy to tackle the expected winter pollution peak, the Delhi government will install six new air quality monitoring stations across the national capital over the next three months, Environment Minister said.
................................ Advertisement ................................
Opinion | Why Indians Have Just Given Up On Air Pollution CrisisTanushree Ganguly
Friday December 20, 2024While some may argue that people in Delhi are now more aware of air pollution than they were a decade back, my rebuttal would be that awareness does not mean that people are concerned.
Opinion | You Must Outrage Over Filthy Air More Than Once A YearJyoti Pande Lavakare
Tuesday December 10, 2024Delhi welcomed us with monsoon rains and mangos. We were home. Fast forward a couple of years, in the winter of 2012, I found myself in denial about something other parents, mostly expats, were calling toxic air.
Opinion | Delhi's Air Pollution Situation Is Like A Bad MarriageNishtha Gautam
Friday November 22, 2024On a good day, such as today, the AQI reading in Delhi is 407. We are jubilant at the sickly sunshine trickling through the slightly dissipated smog. At least its not 1600.
दिवाली... पराली... सियासी जुगाली!Ashwini kumar
Monday November 18, 2024दिल्ली-एनसीआर में प्रदूषण का समाधान तो आज तक मिला नहीं. हर साल चिंतित होकर हम-आप सांसों की तकलीफ के साथ-साथ दिल और ब्लड प्रेशर के मरीज भी क्यों बनें?
घर में कैद बुजुर्ग और हांफते लोग, दिल्ली की सांसों में घुला ये कैसा रोग?Nidhi Kulpati
Friday November 08, 2024हमारी हवा जहरीली हो रही है. गुरुवार की शाम को जब मैं इस मुद्दे पर लिखने बैठी तो AQI लगातार 400 पार जाकर दम घोंट रहा था. बहुत लोगों को यह मामला बोरिंग लगे, लेकिन जब आप अपने साथ काम करने वालों को खांसते-हांफते देखते-सुनते हैं, तो चिंता होने लगती है. सुबह उठते ही दरवाजे खिड़कियां खोलने के लिए डॉक्टर मना कर रहे हैं. बड़े बुजुर्गों के लिए तो मॉर्निंग वॉक बाहर की दुनिया से सीधे संपर्क का ज़रिया है, लेकिन डॉक्टर इसकी भी मनाही कर रहे हैं.