Delhi AQI stays ‘severe’: GRAP-3 in place, schools go hybrid
Delhi saw an AQI of 413 with 31 stations recording severe levels at around 7 am on Wednesday. GRAP stage III was implemented with immediate effect on Tuesday.
Residents of Delhi-NCR woke up to yet another day of deteriorating air quality as air quality index (AQI) of the national capital rose to an alarming 413, according to data from central pollution control board (CPCB).
Delhi recorded a score of 413 on the AQI scale at around 7 am, while 31 of its active 39 stations read ‘severe’ air quality, according to CPCB's Sameer app.
Wazirpur recorded 458, the highest reading at around 7 am.
Air quality in the national capital and its adjoining areas plummeted to into the ‘severe’ category for the first time this season on Tuesday, as the AQI rose from 362 on Monday to 429 (as of 11.30 am) on Tuesday, with Mundka recording an alarming 464 on the scale.
With the air quality worsening each day, the Delhi government implemented stage-III of its graded response action plan (GRAP), which was started with immediate effect on Tuesday.
Shortly after the implementation, the directorate of education directed all schools in the Delhi-NCR region to conduct classes in a hybrid mode for students up to Class 5.
Also read | What's allowed and what's not as GRAP-III imposed in Delhi amid AQI spike
EWS predicts respite
Centre’s air quality early warning system (EWS) predicted marginal winds pick up in wind speeds on Wednesday, that could lead the AQI to crawl back into ‘very poor’ from ‘severe’.
“Winds started to drop on Monday and were almost calm through the night. We also have dipping temperatures, which led to significant accumulation of pollutants,” said vice president at Skymet, Mahesh Palawat, adding that the winds only picked up post noon on Tuesday, touching up to 12 km per hr.
“As per forecasts, we can expect winds to stay consistent on Wednesday, so there are chances of marginal improvement,” he added.
An AQI between 100-200 is ‘moderate’ and causes breathing discomfort to people with diseases in their lungs, asthma or heart diseases, 201-300 is ‘poor’ and causes breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure, 301-400 is ‘very poor’ and causes respiratory illness on prolonged exposure, and 401-500 is ‘severe’ which affects healthy people and impacts those with existing diseases.
