NEW DELHI | NOIDA: A ban on construction and demolition and restriction on the movement of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and GB came into force with immediate effect on Thursday after the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)invoked stringent measures under Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
The capital’s AQI rose to 393 in the higher end of the ‘very poor’ category on Thursday, as opposed to as opposed to 297 in the poor range a day earlier.
In Noida, air quality dipped to ‘poor’ at 259 from 161 in the ‘moderate’ category the day before. Greater Noida also witnessed a similar dip to ‘poor’ from ‘moderate’ with an AQI of 270, against 177 on Wednesday. Neighbouring Ghaziabad saw the most drastic deterioration in air quality of the three, with AQI slipping to the ‘very poor’ category at 332 from 198 the day before.
As Delhi-NCR’s air quality swiftly deteriorated on Thursday, it prompted the CAQM to impose restrictive measures under Stage III of GRAP to prevent further deterioration in air quality. This is the fourth time this winter that Stage III has been enforced in NCR.
No respite is expected in air quality in the next two days. “Light winds have been blowing in the city since Wednesday night, leading to the accumulation of pollutants. Besides, the wind direction changed to easterly on Thursday and during the transition phase, the winds turned calm. Similar conditions are likely to persist over the next two days,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president of Skymet Meteorology.
Palawat added that light rain was predicted for Saturday, which may improve the air quality.
Supreme Court has said Stage III GRAP should be imposed when the AQI crosses 350, as against the earlier threshold of 400. It similarly said that Stage IV should be imposed when the AQI touches 400. The earlier threshold was 450.
“The forecasts from IMD/IITM also suggest a likelihood of the average AQI of Delhi to particularly remain in this adverse range for a few days owing to unfavourable meteorological conditions,” the CAQM said on Thursday.
CAQM’s member secretary Arvind Nautiyal issued a letter on Thursday asking NCR cities to develop a suitable urban area-specific annual action plan for 2025-26 and submit the details to the commission by Feb 28, 2025.
“Road dust is a significant source contributing to the generation and release of particulate matter, posing a major challenge in tackling and abating air pollution in NCR. The strategy to address this problem has to be diverse and not limited to only road cleaning and sweeping, as a lot of this problem is caused due to unscientific construction and management of urban roads. Considering the significant contribution of road dust re-suspension in the AQI of Delhi-NCR, a study titled ‘Addressing Vehicular Traffic Induced Road Dust Re-suspension with Science and Technology Based Action Plans for Air Quality Management in Delhi-NCR’ was entrusted by the Commission upon CSIR-NEERI and CSIR-CRRI,” Nautiyal said.
As part of Stage III, Delhi govt will impose strict restrictions on the plying of Delhi-registered, diesel-operated Medium Goods Vehicles (MGVs) of BS-IV standards and below, in Delhi. Besides, BS-IV and below diesel-operated Light Commercial Vehicles (goods carriers), registered outside Delhi, have been barred from entering the city. However, those vehicles carrying essential commodities or providing essential services are exempted.
Additionally, classes in schools for children up to Class V have to be held in “hybrid” mode, physical and online in Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and GB Nagar. However, state govts may also consider conducting classes for students up to Class V in a “hybrid” mode in other areas in NCR.
