Delhi Air Quality Plunges to ‘Very Poor’ and ‘Severe’ Levels on Diwali; GRAP Stage II Enforced

New Delhi: The air in Delhi and its surrounding areas remained heavily polluted on Monday, the day of Diwali, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 333 in the morning, placing it in the ‘very poor’ category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Certain parts of the city, however, faced ‘severe’ air quality levels. Real-time data from the World Air Quality Index (AQICN) project showed Anand Vihar at 464, while Rohini and Satyawati College recorded AQI levels of 403 and 432, respectively. Other locations including ITO, Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, Burari Crossing, Parparga, and ITI Shahdra had AQIs ranging between 247 and 287.

To tackle the rising pollution, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) implemented Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across the Delhi-NCR region on Sunday evening. According to the CAQM, “The AQI of Delhi has shown an increasing trend since morning and has been recorded as 296 at 4 pm and 302 at 7 pm.”

Stage II measures include:

• Enhanced street cleaning with mechanical and vacuum sweeping, and water sprinkling on key roads, preferably before peak traffic hours.
• Strict enforcement at construction and demolition sites to control dust emissions.
• Promotion of clean mobility by adding more CNG and electric buses, increasing metro frequency, and differential fare rates to encourage off-peak travel.
• Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) are instructed to provide electric heaters for staff to prevent burning of biomass and solid waste during winter months.