Air pollution: Delhi govt enforces GRAP III measures

New Delhi: Delhi woke up to GRAP Stage-3 restrictions on Friday, as the city’s air quality remained in the “severe” category for the third day running, prompting strict measures to curb pollution levels. The air quality index in Delhi was 411 (severe) at 9 am. However, with wind speed picking up, the average 24-hour AQI in the evening came down to 386, still considered “very poor”.

Out of Delhi’s 39 monitoring stations, 18 reported air quality in the “severe” category, down from 27 in the morning. These include Alipur, Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Aya Nagar, Bawana, DTU, Dwarka Sector 8, IGI Airport, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, Narela, Nehru Nagar, Patparganj and Punjabi Bagh.

Delhi chief minister Atishi, meanwhile, announced staggered timings for government offices in a bid to tackle traffic congestion and reduce pollution levels. Under this plan, MCD offices will operate from 8.30 am to 5 pm, Central government offices from 9 am to 5.30 pm and Delhi government offices from 10 am to 6.30 pm, she said in a post on X.

After the Centre imposed GRAP-3 on Thursday in view of the deteriorating AQI, private BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles were banned from city roads with violations inviting a penalty of Rs 20,000. Diesel and petrol inter-state buses from NCR cities to Delhi are also banned. The transport department has deployed 84 teams, with an additional 280 personnel for nabbing violators.

Meteorological experts said while the AQI will remain in the “very poor” category on Saturday, it will improve somewhat.

According to the Centre’s Decision Support System for Air Quality Management, stubble burning was the highest contributor to Delhi's pollution on Thursday, accounting for approximately 33.3 per cent of the total.

Vehicular emissions contributed an estimated 11.9 per cent to Delhi’s pollution on Friday.

The prominent pollutant, according to the CPCB, was PM2.5, which are fine particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less, about the width of a human hair.

These particles are so small that they can penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream, posing significant health risks.

Prior to entering the “severe” category, Delhi's air quality had been in the “very poor” range for 14 consecutive days.