Source : PTI | Asharp deterioration in the capital’s air quality to the higher end of ‘very poor’ range on Monday prompted the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to impose restrictive actions under stage 4 of the GRAP with immediate effect.
The Centre’s air quality panel for Delhi-NCR on Monday invoked stringent measures under Stage 4 of the air pollution control plan as the region’s air quality turned “severe” due to unfavourable meteorological conditions, according to an official order.
The curbs under Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for winters include a ban on all construction and demolition activities, including public projects such as highways and flyovers, and on the entry of trucks carrying non-essential goods into Delhi.
Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index, which was 379 at 4 pm, breached the 400 mark around 10 pm amid extremely calm winds and “buildup of an inversion layer adversely affecting the vertical mixing height”. Vertical mixing height is the height above the surface throughout which a pollutant can be dispersed. Earlier in the day, Centre’s air quality panel for Delhi-NCR invoked restrictive measures under stage three of the air pollution control plan amid a sharp dip in air quality due to unfavourable meteorological conditions.
Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index, recorded at 4 pm daily, stood at 379.
At a review meeting, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) noted that Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) breached the 350 mark on Monday afternoon.
It also noted that the AQI may worsen owing to extremely calm wind and “buildup of an inversion layer adversely affecting the vertical mixing height”, the height above the surface throughout which a pollutant can be dispersed. According to the revised plan, Classes for students from VI-IX, XI in capital, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida to run in hybrid mode.
