A representative image.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: With air pollution choking the national capital and air quality index nearing the “severe plus” mark, the authorities on Saturday invoked the most stringent set of anti-pollution emergency measures and asked all agencies in the National Capital Region to ensure the situation doesn’t deteriorate further.
The Commission for Air Quality Management first imposed stage-III of Graded Response Action Plan after Delhi’s air quality index breached the 400 mark, but within hours upgraded it to GRAP-4 as Delhi’s AQI hit 448 at 7:00 PM.
Actions under GRAP-4 will entail conducting most of the classes in schools in hybrid or online modes, complete halt of construction activities including the linear public projects like roads, flyovers and telecommunication network and severe restrictions on the movement of commercial vehicles and diesel cars.
A thick blanket of haze hung over the NCR throughout the day blocking the sunlight and triggering health complications.
Keeping in view the prevailing trend of air quality and to prevent further deterioration of air quality, the CAQM decided to invoke all actions under Stage-IV of the GRAP with immediate effect, in the entire NCR. This is in addition to the actions under Stages I, II & III of GRAP already in-force.
The Union government blamed the weather condition for the spike. “The change in the wind direction/pattern since yesterday and winds blowing easterly has further worsened the situation for the PM 2.5 concentrations, which is the predominant pollutant during the winter season and is on an increasing trend,” the CAQM noted.
Almost all the AQI stations in Delhi are showing PM 2.5 as the predominant pollutant and the AQI of Delhi has been recorded as 387 at 6:00 AM, 393 at 8:00 AM and recorded as 401 at 10:00 AM today already crossing the “Severe” category mark.
At 7:00 PM, the AQI for Ghaziabad (431), Greater Noida (442) and Noida (455) too became severe, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.
This situation of calm winds, stable atmosphere and unfavourable meteorological conditions is likely to stay for a couple of days as per the forecast from the Indian Meteorological Department. This means no respite from the choking pollution in the next few days.
A day before, the CAQM set up an expert panel to review policies, programmes and regulatory frameworks related to clean mobility, including Bharat Stage norms, electric mobility initiatives and fuel-efficiency standards across Delhi-NCR. It will assess segment-wise contributions of vehicular emissions and related exposure risks.
Headed by Ashok Jhunjhunwala from IIT Madras, the committee will also examine technological readiness, infrastructure needs, cost implications and incentive plans for an accelerated electric vehicle transition and recommend additional measures as needed. Former AIIMS director Randeep Guleria is the co-chair of the panel.