Delhi’s air quality deteriorated sharply on Saturday, recording an AQI value at 448 at 7 pm. It prompted the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to invoke Stage IV measures of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
Few hours earlier, the CAQM had invoked GRAP III after noting the 24-hour AQI average at 431, which puts the index in the “severe” category. This was the worst recorded figure in the city this year till it was breached later in the day. The CAQM held two meeting within a span of few hours and moved the restriction category from Stage III to Stage IV.
According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi recorded an AQI of 401 at 10 am, 431 at 4 pm, 436 at 5 pm, 441 at 6 pm, and 448 at 7 pm. Tthe CAQM has banned the entry of BS-IV trucks in its municipal limits. Commercial vehicles registered outside are already banned from entering the city.
In NCR, Delhi’s average daily AQI of 431 was the third worst, after Noida at 455 and Greater Noida at 442, reflecting severe pollution across the region.
Delhi’s pollution load was led by the transport sector, which contributed 14.2%, followed by peripheral industries at 6.8%.