Ajit Karn
Delhi Pollution: GRAP Stage II Curbs Lifted After Marginal Improvement in Air Quality
Officials said on Wednesday that pollution control authorities have lifted the restrictions put in place in Delhi-NCR under stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan. This is because the air quality has gotten much better in the last few days.
Since January 30, Delhi’s overall air quality has gone from 207 (which means “poor”) to 164 (which means “moderate”), according to the 4 pm AQI bulletin from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This was said in a statement by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
“Keeping in mind that the overall AQI of Delhi-NCR is getting better, the GRAP sub-committee decided to stop taking actions under stage II of GRAP (AQI of “very poor”) in the whole NCR right away,” the report said.
The CAQM said that all actions under stage I of GRAP will still be taken, monitored, and reviewed by all relevant agencies in the entire NCR. This is to make sure that the overall air quality in Delhi-NCR doesn’t get worse in the coming days.
The overall AQI of Delhi has been getting better over the past few days, and the weather forecasts by IITM/IMD are also being taken into account. On Wednesday, the sub-committee for invoking actions under GRAP of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR & Adjoining Areas (CAQM) met to discuss the current air quality situation.
The subcommittee looked at the overall air quality parameters of Delhi-NCR and other factors. They noted that IMD/IITM forecasts don’t show that Delhi’s overall AQI will drop into the “very poor” category in the next few days. Instead, it is likely to stay in the “moderate” category. So, the statement said, it is thought to be best to loosen the current restrictions under stage-II of GRAP and roll it back immediately in the whole NCR.
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On October 19 of last year, the order to put in place stage-II level restrictions was made.
It was said that Delhi’s overall AQI went from 207 (in the “poor” category) on January 30 to 192 (upper end of “moderate” category) on January 31 to 164 (in the “moderate” category) on February 1.
