As per CPCB standards, an AQI between 0–50 is ‘good’, 51–100 ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 ‘moderate’, 201–300 ‘poor’, 301–400 ‘very poor’ and 401–500 ‘severe’. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Friday revoked all curbs imposed under Stage-3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi and other places in the National Capital Region (NCR) following an improvement in air quality. The decision took effect immediately.
Air Quality Index (AQI) numbers showed a significant decline from 380 on Thursday to 236 by 4 pm Friday, prompting a review by the CAQM Sub-Committee on GRAP, an official told news agency PTI. Based on this, the panel chose to withdraw all actions that apply under Stage-3 (Severe air quality). However, Stage-1 and Stage-2 actions remain in force across NCR.
GRAP stands for Graded Response Action Plan, a pre-defined sequence of steps to control pollution based on daily AQI levels and forecasts from weather agencies. The plan activates higher stages as pollution worsens.
Each stage includes specific pollution-control measures. When a higher stage is triggered, measures from all lower stages continue along with the new actions.
Stage 3 of GRAP is invoked when air quality reaches or is forecast to reach the ‘severe’ range. Under this stage, authorities must implement a 9-point action plan that targets major sources of pollution and reduces emissions quickly. Agencies such as the Pollution Control Boards and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee enforce these steps.
Revocation of Stage-3 curbs means that the CAQM has concluded that air quality no longer meets the criteria that require Stage-3 measures. The step brings the region back to lower stages of the emergency response, where: Agencies must still enforce Stage-1 and Stage-2 steps until the CAQM issues a new order. This ensures ongoing measures remain aligned with current air quality trends.
Under this stage, authorities implement additional measures on top of Stage-I steps. CAQM instructs governments to:
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