As Delhi chokes, stricter GRAP-III anti-pollution curbs imposed from today

Delhi's AQI (air quality index) reached 428 on Thursday morning, just a day after it plummeted to the 'severe' category for the first time this season, posing a significant health hazard to residents.

In Short

• Ban on BS-III petrol, BS-IV diesel vehicles from today as Stage III of GRAP imposed
• Construction, demolition, non-essential mining activities to be halted
• Delhi's air quality remained in severe category on Thursday, AQI at 428

As Delhi's air quality plunged to 'severe' levels this week, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has decided to implement Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) from today.

While GRAP-3 is in effect, construction and demolition will be halted, all non-essential mining activities will be suspended, non-electric, non-CNG, and non-BS-VI diesel interstate buses will be restricted, and schools are suggested to shut till Class 5 in Delhi-NCR.

Furthermore, a ban on the plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers will be imposed from 8 am today and commercial vehicles will be banned from entering the national capital.

Meanwhile, the CAQM has ordered an increase in the mechanised sweeping of roads. It also asked for an increase in water sprinkling on roads in hotspot areas, especially before peak traffic hours. The government has also urged Delhi residents to carpool and prefer using public transport as much as possible.

The Delhi Metro will run an additional 20 trips (in addition to 40 already in place since GRAP-II was implemented) from today after the implementation of Stage III of GRAP. The 60 extra trips will be performed by Delhi Metro on weekdays till GRAP-III remains in place.

The move comes as the government urges citizens of the national capital and surrounding areas to switch to public modes of transportation amid deteriorating air quality.

Delhi’s AQI (air quality index) reached 428 on Thursday morning, just a day after it plummeted to the severe category for the first time this season, posing a significant health hazard to residents, officials said.

Of the city's 39 monitoring stations, 32 recorded AQI levels over 400 at 9 am on Thursday, including Anand Vihar and IGI Airport. This marks Delhi's worst air quality reading of the season and the highest in the country.

The development comes just hours after Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that Stage III of GRAP wouldn't be implemented in Delhi, news agency ANI reported. He said that the decision was taken after the prediction of improvement in weather conditions which would eventually lower the AQI index in the city.

Residents of Delhi woke up to another day of thick smog on Thursday morning. The visibility was lowered in the city due to the smog, as a result of which over 200 flights were delayed, according to Flightradar.

However, the deterioration in the air quality resulted in the BJP launching verbal punches at the Aam Aadmi Party. Virendraa Sachdeva, the chief of BJP's Delhi unit, said he wasn't able to see India Gate despite standing at Kartavya Path and blamed the Atishi-led Delhi government for it.

"We are standing at Kartavya Path, and the AQI here is 474. We can’t even see India Gate. This is due to the inefficiency of the AAP government, which is focused only on event management, not environmental planning," he said.