Citing an improvement in the quality of the air, the Center on Tuesday ordered the immediate relaxation of Stage-III limitations of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) throughout the whole National Capital Region (NCR). The decision was made following a meeting on Tuesday of the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), a statutory organization charged with formulating strategies to mitigate pollution in the area. The meeting was held in order to deliberate on the noteworthy improvement in Delhi-NCR’s overall air quality.
The India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology have provided air quality forecasts, and the Central Air Quality Monitoring (CAQM) reported that they show no signs of the average air quality in Delhi rising to the’severe’ category in the next days for which forecasts are available.In today’s meeting, the Sub-Committee examined the following air quality scenario:
Delhi’s overall air quality index (AQI) has improved from 395 on November 27, 2023, at 4 PM, to 312 at 4 PM today. This is roughly 83 AQI points below the threshold for triggering the GRAP Stage-III actions (Delhi AQI 401-450), and all Stages up to Stage-III are currently undergoing preventive, mitigating, and restrictive measures. “There is a likelihood of the overall AQI of Delhi remaining in ‘Very Poor’ category in the coming days for which forecast is available,” it added.
Stage-I, Stage-II, Stage-III, and Stage-IV of the GRAP were implemented by the Sub-Committee on October 6, 2023, October 21, 2023, November 2, 2023, and November 5, 2023, respectively, during its previous meetings. The Sub-Committee then resolved to lift the Stage-IV (‘Severe+’) of GRAP measures at its review meeting on November 18, 2023, taking into consideration the improved Delhi average Air Quality Index (AQI) and the air quality outlook for the next few days.
