Delhi air pollution: CAQM revises GRAP guidelines for NCR schools; AQI improves to ‘severe’ category

The air quality in Delhi slightly improved but remained in the severe category on Wednesday as a thin blanket of smog covered parts of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and other areas of the National Capital Region.

The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI), recorded daily at 4pm, stood at 419 on Wednesday, down from 444 on Tuesday, after touching nearly 500 in the “severe plus” category earlier on Monday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) bulletin. The CPCB said that Monday’s reading was the second-worst air quality recorded since AQI tracking began in 2015.

According to the CPCB, the AQI of Delhi’s Anand Vihar (406), Ashok Vihar (416), Bawana (419), Dwarka sector-8 (404), Jahangirpuri (437), Munka (416), Nehru Nagar(410) and some other places touched remained in the severe category at 6am on Thursday, November 21.

Visuals from near the India Gate showed people carrying out their daily morning walks, while others jogged on the Kartavya Path in a smog-filled atmosphere.

Revised CAQM guidelines for Delhi-NCR

Meanwhile, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), Centre’s pollution watchdog, on Wednesday revised the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), mandating the closure of schools in Delhi and NCR districts under Stages 3 and 4 of the plan.

Previously, the decision to implement these measures was left to the discretion of the state governments.

The CAQM in NCR and adjoining areas on Wednesday revised the GRAP, mandating the closure of schools in Delhi and the NCR districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Buddh Nagar under Stages 3 and 4.

An additional directive under Stage 3 of the GRAP now requires the state governments to stagger the timings of public offices and municipal bodies in Delhi and the aforementioned NCR districts.

According to the order, the decision on office timings remains at the discretion of the respective state governments for other NCR districts.

Previous guidelines

Previously, under Stage 3, the state governments could decide whether to halt physical classes for students up to Class 5 and transition to online learning.

Similarly, under Stage 4, they had the option to discontinue in-person classes for students in Classes 6 to 9 and 11.

However, the revised GRAP now makes these measures mandatory for Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar, while allowing other NCR districts the flexibility to decide, it said.

Supreme Court reprimanded CAQM

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court reprimanded the CAQM for delaying the implementation of Stages 3 and 4 of the GRAP, and emphasised the immediate need for closure of schools across NCR until further orders.

The Supreme Court also directed the CAQM to adopt stricter measures under Stages 3 and 4, ensuring that implementation is no longer left to the discretion of local authorities.

The AQI in Delhi has been in the severe category since Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday, it escalated to the severe plus category, with readings exceeding 450.