NEW DELHI, Oct 20 (NNN-PTI) – As air quality in the Indian capital region deteriorated into the “very poor” category, the Indian federal government imposed restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage-II, in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), yesterday.
The decision was taken during an emergency review meeting, following the observation of a steady rise in pollution levels throughout the day.
Delhi-NCR is a metropolitan area that includes the entire National Capital Territory of Delhi, and the surrounding districts from the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi has shown an increasing trend since morning, and has been recorded as 296 at 4.00 p.m. and 302 at 7.00 p.m. local time. The forecast by the India Meteorological Department/Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, also predicts further deterioration of AQI in the coming days, reads the order from the Commission for Air Quality Management.
“The Sub-Committee, accordingly, decides to invoke all actions under Stage-II (Very Poor Air Quality) of the extant GRAP in the entire NCR, with immediate effect, in addition to the Stage-I actions already in force,” it said.– NNN-PTI
