Delhi's Air Quality Dips to 'Severe'

Delhi's air quality index (AQI) tipped into the "severe" zone on Monday evening for the first time in 23 days, snapping a period of relatively reprieve and prompting the central panel to reimpose a host of curbs in NCR as part of stages 3 and 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap).

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

Delhi recorded a 24-hour average AQI of 379 at 4 pm on Monday, with the number rising to 404 at 11 pm, as pollution levels spiked dramatically in two days. Similarly, Gurugram logged a "poor" AQI of 291 on Monday, which rose to 321 at 11 pm.

While Stage 3 was initially announced during the day, a steady increase in AQI prompted the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to hold an emergency meeting late in the evening, and invoking Stage 4 with immediate effect across NCR.

Grap Stage 3 brings with it a ban on BS-3 petrol and BS-4 diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar, blanket curbs on private construction and demolitions, along with restrictions on the use of stone crushers, mining and associated activities.

Further, as part of stages 3 and 4 of Grap, all constructions in NCR—private and public projects—are now halted.