New Delhi: Delhiites have got a sigh of relief, but the city still sees a blanket of smog. However, the air quality has improved a lot on December 2. The air quality of the national capital was recorded at 274 on Sunday, as per the report by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). Gentle wind blowing has brought relief to the residents. It effectively mitigated pollution levels, and air quality turned to the ‘poor’ category from ‘severe plus.’
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in its release stated that the AQI of different places in Delhi, such as Anand Vihar, was 303 at 6 am on Monday. Ashok Vihar at 284, Bawana at 298, Chandni Chowk at 188, IGI Airport at 270, Dwarka at 307, Jahangirpuri at 310, Mundka at 297, Narela at 266, Nehru Nagar at 334, Patparganj at 285, Punjabi Bagh at 278, Pusa at 249, Rohini at 299, and Wazirpur at 281. The CPCB classifies AQI levels between 0-50 as ‘good,’ 51-100 as ‘satisfactory,’ 101-200 as ‘moderate,’ 201-300 as ‘poor,’ 301-400 as ‘very poor,’ and anything above 400 as ‘severe.’
In fact, the Supreme Court is not in a hurry to remove the Graded Response Action Plan Stage IV of anti-pollution measures. The court made it clear that the school will switch to online mode under GRAP IV, and it can operate in a hybrid mode in case of learning difficulties. However, the ban on construction, trucks, and commercial vehicles transporting non-essential goods into the city continued in spite of the improvement in the air quality. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) announced mixed restrictions, i.e., it can pick and choose from GRAP-III and GRAP-IV depending on the severity of the air quality.
