GRAP Stage 4 Enforced as Delhi Air Quality Turns Severe

Monday morning saw Delhi waking up to heavy smog with continued air quality in the “severe” category for the third consecutive day. Air quality in Delhi and nearby areas has once again reached the “severe” level, with many people reporting breathing problems, sore throats, and irritation in the eyes. The Delhi government has enforced Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan due to the worsening pollution.

Under these measures, all government and private schools have been instructed to function a hybrid mode of classes up to Class 11, with the exemption of Class 10. Besides this, all government and private offices have been asked to maintain just 50 percent staff presence while the remaining employees work from home.

Considering the health effects related to air pollution, students and parents seek the temporary closure of schools or an early start of winter vacations. Still, no such closure of schools is officially announced by the government of Delhi. If the official decision is taken, further updates will be informed.

The overall AQI was recorded at 457 according to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi. The visibility is also dropping sharply in many parts of the city. Thick smog enveloped Delhi, reducing visibility to almost near zero in short distances. Flight operations were likely to be impacted, and advisories were issued by the airport and airlines due to poor visibility.

Air quality deteriorated over the weekend and touched extreme levels on Monday. At least four monitoring stations - Ashok Vihar, Jahangirpuri, Rohini, and Wazirpur - reported an AQI of 500 around 7 am, the highest level recorded by the CPCB.

Visibility dropped significantly early this morning. At the Indira Gandhi International Airport, the visibility was extremely low according to the report by IMD. The visibility there went down to as low as 50 metres around 7 am. The weather department had already issued a warning of dense fog for this early afternoon based on observations from the Safdarjung observatory.