The Commission for Air Quality Management on Friday announced that it is imposing Stage 3 restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan in Delhi-NCR after a major rise in air pollution levels.
Delhi Pollution: Residents of Delhi and adjoining NCR woke up to a bone-chilling cold wave and dense fog that enveloped several parts of North India on Friday. The overall air quality of the national capital crossed the 350 mark, entering the ‘severe’ category. Citing the seriousness of the situation, the Commission for Air Quality Management has imposed Stage-III restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan in Delhi-NCR. CAQM has taken the decision to reimpose Stage-III restrictions as the overall air quality of the capital city crossed the 350 mark, entering the ‘severe’ category.
Under GRAP-III: What’s Banned?
Under the Grap III restrictions, a ban has been imposed on non-essential construction and demolition activities including welding, painting, plastering, earthwork, piling, open trenching and tile or flooring work. Operations of mining activities, stone crushers, ready-mix concrete (RMC) plants and brick kilns have also been restricted.
GRAP-III: What Remains Exempt?
Certain activities have been kept outside the purview of the grap-III ban.
- Construction work related to essential infrastructure projects will be allowed. The construction works include – metro rail, railways, airports, highways, defence installations, healthcare facilities and sanitation-related works.
- Vehicles used by persons with disabilities have been exempted.
- Schools have been advised to switch to hybrid or online classes for up to Grade 5.
GRAP-III: Vehicular Restrictions
BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers are banned under the Grap-III restrictions. Non-essential diesel-powered medium goods vehicles, inter-state diesel buses (non CNG), electric or BS-VI standards are also banned. The authorities have instructed officials to shut industries using unapproved fuels under the curbs.
Delhi Weather
Residents of the capital city woke up to a bone-chilling morning on Friday with dense fog blanketing the entire NCR region. The IMD issued a yellow alert for dense fog and cold wave conditions on Friday.
The nighttime temperature is expected to hover between 3 and 5 degrees Celsius. By Sunday, the minimum temperature is likely to increase further between 8 and 10 degrees Celsius.
Thursday became the coldest day of the season in the capital city as the nighttime temperature plunged to 2.9 degrees Celsius. Palam recorded 2.3 degrees Celsius, the lowest in the last 20 years.
Cold Wave Warning
Cold wave and dense fog conditions persist in North India, including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan on Friday morning. According to IMD, some relief from the cold wave conditions will be witnessed in the next 2-3 days.
Snowfall Warning
The weather department stated that a western disturbance is likely to hit the Himalayan region due to which snowfall is expected today.
