Delhi's Air Quality Remains 'Very Poor' For 2nd Consecutive Day

Delhi continued to experience "very poor" air quality on Sunday morning, with an air quality index of 398.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR-India), the AQI in Delhi was recorded at 398 at 7:15 am on Sunday, categorising it as 'very poor.'

As per the Central Pollution Control Board data recorded at 8 am, the AQI in Anand Vihar was 336. Similarly, at Alipur, the AQI was recorded at 363, at ITO, it was 329, and at Bawana, it was recorded at 371 - all falling into the 'very poor' category.

Following a slight improvement, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) revoked Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Saturday.

The decision was prompted by the city's average Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching 319, as reported by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Although Stage IV restrictions were lifted, Stages I to III of the GRAP will persist in the entire NCR to prevent AQI levels from worsening to the 'Severe' category.

In what will come as a relief for students and parents, all government and private schools in Delhi will reopen from Monday following a decline in pollution levels. The announcement was made by the Delhi government on Saturday.

The CAQM, in a release, said that in view of the significant improvement in the average air quality of Delhi-NCR, the Sub-Committee for operationalization of actions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) met today to review the current air quality scenario in the region.

"While comprehensively reviewing the overall air quality parameters of Delhi-NCR, the Sub-Committee observed that yesterday (i.e., November 17, 2023), Delhi's average AQI clocked 405, which started declining and showing improvement since the late evening of November 17, 2023. Further, the air quality forecasts by IMD/ IITM also do not indicate any steep degradation in the overall air quality of Delhi-NCR in the coming days," the release added.

Moreover, as per the Central pollution watchdog, the present AQI level of Delhi is around 322 (very poor) recorded at 2 pm on Saturday, which is about 128 AQI points below the threshold for invoking the GRAP Stage-IV actions and preventive actions under all Stages up to Stage-IV are underway, there is a likelihood of sustaining the improvement in AQI.

"The forecast by IMD/ITM also does not indicate any further steep degradation," the statutory body said.

"Various agencies responsible for implementing measures under GRAP and Pollution Control Boards (PCBs) of NCR and DPCC have also been advised to ensure strict implementation and intensification of actions under Stage-I, Stage-II and Stage-III of the revised GRAP in the entire NCR.