Delhi air quality improves, pollution curbs under GRAP Stage III eased

The Centre on Tuesday ordered the revocation of restrictions under Stage-III of GRAP in the entire NCR with immediate effect, following improvement in air quality.

The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), a statutory body responsible for formulating strategies to combat pollution in the region, met on Tuesday in view of the significant improvement in the overall air quality of Delhi-NCR.

The air quality forecasts by the India Meteorological Department/Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology do not indicate the average air quality of Delhi to move to ‘severe’ category in the coming days for which forecast is available, the CAQM said.

The Centre's pollution control panel had invoked the Stage III restrictions on November 2, directing a halt on non-essential construction work, stone crushing and mining in Delhi-NCR. Under this stage, restrictions were also imposed on the operation of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar.

The city's 24-hour average AQI, recorded at 4 pm every day, improved from 395 on Monday to 312 on Tuesday.

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