Delhi gasps as AQI plunges; no Grap-3

Residents woke up to another morning of burning eyes and difficulty in breathing as a thick layer of smog shrouded the Capital Sunday morning, with the air quality touching a season-high in the early hours.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

At 8am, AQI was at 391 (very poor), on the brink of the 'severe' category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). It saw marginal improvement as winds picked up later in the day, recorded up to 15 km/ hour, along with bright sunshine. Sunday's AQI crossed an earlier season-high of 388 at 10 am on November 2.

Taking a note of the air quality, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) called a review meeting at 4 pm, but decided not to invoke the next stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) across NCR. Citing a trend in the 24 hour average and no forecasts of 'severe' air ahead, it said, Stage-3 curbs — such as a ban on private BS-3 petrol and BS-4 diesel four-wheelers — were "not required at the moment", while, 1 and 2 will continue to remain in place.