As Delhi's air quality turns 'severe', govt bars plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel 4 wheelers till Friday

On Monday, Delhi's air quality further deteriorated to the "severe" category owing to unfavorable meteorological conditions and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has directed all NCR states to implement anti-pollution restrictions.

According to officials, the Delhi govt has also decided to bar the plying of BS-III petrol, BS-IV diesel 4-wheelers from Tuesday to Friday in view of worsening air quality, among several other restrictions.

"There shall be restrictions to ply BS-111, Petrol and BS-IV, Diesel LMVs (4 Wheelers) in NCT of Delhi with immediate effect, till dated January 12, 2023, or till downward revision in the GRAP stage, whichever is earlier (except for vehicles deployed in emergency services, police vehicles, and government vehicles used for enforcement)," an order by Transport Department of Delhi government said.


The sub-committee for invoking actions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) reviewed the air quality scenario as well as the forecasts for meteorological conditions and Air Quality Index in Delhi.


Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 434 at 4 pm on Monday, worsening from 371 on Sunday. An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe". An official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said low temperatures, calm winds and high moisture content led to trapping of pollutants.

Considering the sudden spike in air pollution, the CAQM held an urgent review meeting with officials from Delhi and NCR states, including Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and directed them to implement the provisions of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the field with "greater vigour to prevent further deterioration of air quality".

The commission also stressed on the need to deploy enough inspection teams to ensure the implementation of the anti-pollution plan.

(With inputs from PTI)