The capital city of Delhi and its surrounding regions witnessed a sudden deterioration in air quality, plunging to ‘severe’ levels for the first time in 2024. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) promptly reinstated restrictions under Stage-3 of the anti-pollution measures known as the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), aiming to curb the escalating environmental crisis.
The CAQM Sub-Committee, convened in response to the unexpected drop in air quality, invoked an 8-point action plan as per Stage-III of the revised GRAP. This includes a ban on all non-essential construction activities and the restriction of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles in Delhi-NCR.
The national capital woke up to a thick layer of fog blanketing the Indo-Gangetic plains on Sunday, causing visibility levels to plummet to zero meters at various locations. The deteriorating air quality was exacerbated by low temperatures and minimal wind speed over the preceding 48 hours.
Delhi experienced the coldest morning of the winter season, with the minimum temperature dropping to 3.5 degrees Celsius – a marginal decrease from the previous day’s 3.6 degrees Celsius and Friday’s season-low of 3.9 degrees Celsius. The frigid conditions prompted the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue an orange alert for Sunday and Monday, warning of dense to very dense fog and coldwave conditions.
The adverse weather conditions disrupted transportation, leading to more than 100 flight delays at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport. Additionally, nine flights were diverted to Jaipur. The Northern Railway reported delays of over one hour for at least 22 trains on Sunday morning.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) at 9 am on Sunday stood at 458, categorized as ‘severe,’ marking a deterioration from Saturday’s reading of 399, classified as ‘very poor.’ These figures prompted the implementation of CAQM measures for the third time this winter, prohibiting BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four-wheelers in various regions, including Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar. The measures also imposed an immediate ban on private construction activities in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
The IMD urged commuters on highways to exercise extreme caution and use fog lights during their journeys. The forecast predicts the maximum temperature to hover around 18 degrees Celsius on both Sunday and Monday, with the minimum temperature expected to be around four degrees Celsius on Monday as well. As Delhi grapples with the challenges posed by foggy conditions and deteriorating air quality, the reinstatement of anti-pollution measures underscores the urgency of addressing environmental concerns in the region.
Sources By Agencies