NEW DELHI: The national capital entered the ‘red zone’ on Saturday after the Air Quality Index (AQI) crossed the 400 mark, making the situation inhospitable for Delhiites and residents of the National Capital Region.With a 24-hour average AQI of 361, Delhi is the second most polluted city in the country, according to CPCB data. Several districts, including Wazirpur (420), Burari (418) and Vivek Vihar (411), recorded “severe” pollution levels, while most others hovered in the “very poor” range. NCR Noida (354), Greater Noida (336) and Ghaziabad (339) also reported unsafe air, highlighting the worsening smog in the region.Delhi’s Air Quality Early Warning System predicts that the city’s air will remain in the ‘very poor’ category for the next few days. Since Diwali, air quality in the capital has mostly fluctuated between “poor” and “very poor”, occasionally worsening to “severe”.
Why is GRAP 3 not yet implemented?
Phase 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is yet to be implemented as the city’s air quality remained comparatively better than the same period last year in November this year, according to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). Officials said pollution levels have not yet reached a critical threshold that would trigger the third stage of restrictions. They attributed the improvement to timely and coordinated action by all agencies, including increased dust control, road cleaning, anti-smog actions and tighter inspections of vehicles and industrial emissions, which helped delay the need for tougher measures.“Out of the last seven days, six recorded better air quality than the corresponding days last year. This was possible due to timely and coordinated action taken by all departments,” PTI quoted the official as saying.“Last year, Phase 3 of GRAP was introduced on November 13. This time, with the support of all departments and the people of Delhi, we hope to prevent this phase from being reached,” the official said.
