Delhi Air Quality Is 'Severe'! What Is GRAP-3? Are Schools Shut In Delhi Gurgaon, Noida As AQI Hits Over 400

Delhi Air Quality Index: The city of Delhi is choking up as its air quality breaches the 'Severe' category after the AQI index touched 425. This has pushed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to impose stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

Delhi AQI Index:

As per the Central Pollution Control Board-backed SAMEER App, the current AQI of the city of Delhi is 430 with the 'Severe' category as of 03:06 pm of November 11.

The severe category means that this worse air quality is affecting healthy people and can seriously impact those with any sort of disease.

In the city, the air quality is above 400 for most areas. The AQI index for Dwarka Sector 8 is 454, while the AQI at Indira Gandhi International Airport for Terminal 3 is 414, impacting visibility for airlines and passengers. Further, the AQI is at 447 for Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, at 457 for Nehru Nagar, and at 453 for Patparganj.

The AQI index at RK Puram is at 458, Punjab Bagh at 460, Lodhi Road at 423, North Campus DU at 445, and CRRI Mathura Road at 457.

In other populated regions, the AQI index has worsened to 454 in Ashok Vihar, 438 in Sonia Vihar, at 455 in Jahangirpuri, 450 at Vivek Vihar and 433 in Najafgarh.

Noida Air Quality:

In Greater Noida, the AQI has breached the Severe category, with quality dropping intensely to 406. Further, in Noida, the AQI index is at 425.

Gurugram Air Quality:

The AQI index has dropped to 383 in Gurugram, a city just southwest ofNew Delhi.

What Is GARP-Stage 3:

The full form of GRAP is Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which was initially introduced for Delhi-NCR. There are four stages to GRAP and they are mainly an emergency response action plan invoked with a view to curb further deterioration of the adverse air quality scenario in NCR.

GRAP - Stage 1: 'Poor' (AQl 201 - 300)

GRAP - Stage 2: 'Very Poor (AQl 301-
400)

GRAP - Stage 3: 'Severe'(AOl 40r450)

GRAP - Stage 4 Severe +'(AQl >450)

Based on the stages, the Delhi authorities take restrictive actions to tame the air pollution quality.

GRAP-3 Restrictive Actions:

As per the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) guidelines, the following measures should be followed by the respective Delhi authorities:

- Intensify the frequency of mechanized sweeping of roads.

- Ensure daily water sprinkling along with dust suppressants, before peak traffic hours, on roads and rights-of-way, including hotspots and heavy traffic corridors and ensure proper disposal of the collected dust in designated sites/landfills.

- Intensify public transport services. Introduce differential rates to encourage off-peak travel.

- Enforce a strict ban on non-essential construction and demolition activities. This is excluding projects like healthcare, metro, railways, and defense.

- Strict restrictions on diesel generator sets for non-emergency purposes.

- Ban on older vehicles like BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers. They are not allowed to operate in Delhi and nearby NCR districts.

- Ban on burning garbage or waste products in open air.

- Guidelines to enable work from home for government and private offices to lessen vehicular emissions.

Delhi School Holidays:

Although there is no official statement to fully close schools during these severe air quality situations,classes up to 5 are allowed to study in hybrid mode. Parents and guardians are directed to choose online classes for these students.

Also, many schools have suspended outdoor activities as a precautionary measure against the severe air conditions. These schools are going to carry out all their activities indoors. Apart from this, some schools have suspended outdoor gatherings for assemblies and even installed air purifiers inside the premises.