Delhi's 'very poor' AQI stagnates at 398 on Sunday morning

In the early hours of Sunday, Delhi continued to grapple with "very poor" air quality, as reported by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR-India). The air quality index (AQI) stood at 398, emphasising ongoing concerns about the city's atmospheric conditions.

At 7:15 am, SAFAR-India recorded an AQI of 398, categorising Delhi's air quality as 'very poor.' Central Pollution Control Board data further highlighted specific areas within the city experiencing similar conditions. Anand Vihar reported an AQI of 336, Alipur at 363, ITO at 329, and Bawana at 371, all falling under the 'very poor' category.

Despite a slight improvement, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) made a significant decision to revoke Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Saturday. This move followed the city's average AQI reaching 319, as reported by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).


While Stage IV restrictions were lifted, the CAQM emphasised that Stages I to III of the GRAP would persist throughout the entire National Capital Region (NCR) to prevent AQI levels from escalating to the 'Severe' category.

In a release, the CAQM stated that the Sub-Committee for operationalization of actions under the GRAP met to review the current air quality scenario, meteorological conditions, and air quality index forecasts made available by IMD/IITM. The decision to lift Stage IV was influenced by the substantial improvement in Delhi-NCR's average air quality. The release highlighted that, despite a brief spike with an average AQI of 405 on November 17, 2023, the situation showed signs of improvement since the late evening of the same day. Forecasts from IMD/IITM did not indicate a steep degradation in the overall air quality of Delhi-NCR in the coming days.

As of Saturday afternoon, the Central pollution watchdog reported an AQI level of around 322 (classified as 'very poor'). While this is about 128 AQI points below the threshold for invoking GRAP Stage-IV actions, preventive measures under all stages, up to Stage IV, are actively underway. There is optimism about sustaining the improvement in AQI levels in the days ahead.