Delhi continues to choke in smoggy air ahead of Diwali, which on Friday led to Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) coming into force.
The decision was taken by the Committee of Air Quality Management's (CAQM) Sub-Committee on GRAP, and comes in response to an Air Quality Index (AQI) level of 380, which reflects a 'very poor' reading as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)—bordering on the 'severe' level.
Stage III typically includes very strict restrictions on construction and demolition activities, modified metro services, and hybrid learning in schools upto Class 5 and in private companies.
This stage of the winter pollution response in the national capital also includes restrictions from previous stages, such as a ban on the use of coal and firewood, heavily regulated disel generator operations, increased parking fees, restrictions on vehicles compliant with BS-IV or lower emission standards, and mechanical sweeping and water sprinkling operations by civic bodies.
GRAP-III is also expected to continue over the next few days, because the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) has predicted that AQI levels are likely to stay 'severe' at around the Diwali window—from November 7 to 9.
"The outlook for the subsequent 6 days: the air quality is likely to be in the 'severe' to 'very poor' category," an IITM status report added.
This also comes days after Stage II of the GRAP was imposed on November 2, after the CAQM had flagged a sharp spike in AQI levels over just three days: 117 on October 31, 261 on November 1, and past the 300 on Monday.
The continuing air pollution also led to a quip from Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant during a hearing earlier on Friday in connection to a pollution case.
"I hope you all are enjoying the weather in Delhi," he had said during the case hearing, in which the Supreme Court had also called for an advance announcement of procurement prices for crop stubble (parali) to encourage farmers to sell it.
The SC had also stressed that gram panchayats be equipped with a system to manage its collection and procurement, since stubble burning accounted for as much as 14 per cent of pollution in the national capital, as of November 5.
