Delhi's AQI drops to 'poor': What it means for your health & ways to stay safe

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has imposed Graded Response Action Plan’s (GRAP) first stage in the Delhi-NCR area. The air quality in the city deteriorated to the “poor” category; its air quality index (AQI) rose from 179 on October 20 to 244 on October 21.

Actions under Stage-I of the GRAP shall be implemented, monitored and reviewed by all the agencies concerned in the entire NCR to ensure that the AQI levels do not slip further,” the CAQM said. Moreover, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also forecasted the AQI to remain in the “poor” category over the next few days. Therefore, the concerned authorities have activated pollution-control measures across the city to prevent the AQI from worsening further.

The Delhi-NCR’s air pollution generally worsens during this time as farmers in neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana also burn their crop residues to prepare their lands for the next season.

Which pollution-control measures are taken under GRAP-1?

The GRAP for the entire NCR has been classified under four different stages of adverse air quality in Delhi: Stage – I ‘Poor’ (AQI 201 – 300), Stage – II ‘Very Poor (AQI 301-400), Stage – III ‘Severe’ (AQI 401-450) and Stage – IV ‘Severe +’ (AQI >450), respectively.