'In a matter of hours': GRAP 4 lifted, no bar on non-Delhi BS-4 petrol cars as AQI 'improves'; relief not here to stay

NEW DELHI: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR rolled back GRAP Stage-IV restrictions on Wednesday as the Air Quality Index slid down from the severe range to very poor, aided by strong, dry winds in the region.

The removal of the restrictions for now would allow BS-IV petrol LMVs from other states to enter Delhi. All restrictions under GRAP-III - non-linear construction, BS III petrol & BS IV diesel LMVs, etc. - will still hold across Delhi-NCR.




"The AQI of Delhi showed significant improvement since yesterday night, owing to high winds and favourable meteorological conditions and was recorded as 271 (poor category) on Dec 24," the commission said on Wednesday.

Given the "disruptive nature of restrictions under Stage-IV" that impacts a large number of stakeholders and the public, and forecasts "by IMD/IITM that indicate that the AQI may be "between the poor and very poor category in the coming days", the CAQM sub-committee unanimously decided to revoke Stage-IV.

The air quality index (AQI) on Wednesday was very poor during the morning hours; however, with an increase in wind speed, the quality improved. The average of 271 on Wednesday was significantly lower than 412 a day earlier.

IMD said the peak wind speed was 22 kmph in the south-west direction around 2 pm. The direction kept changing between south-west and westerly. The wind was dry, which helped in dispersing the pollutants. Humidity and fog tend to trap impurities.

"The visibility improved.... There was dense fog in the early morning hours with minimum visibility of 100 m at Palam between 2 am and 5 am. It improved later, and was 400 m at Safdarjung at 6.30 am. This too improved later," an IMD official said.

Factors such as winds and better ventilation also led to a drastic reduction in the PM2.5 levels. DPCC data shows that the hourly PM2.5 levels at some places was as low as 11 micrograms per cubic metre.

"The reduction in PM2.5 is attributable to... stronger winds, rather than GRAP measures," Manoj Kumar, an analyst at CREA, said.

The city saw a rise in temperature. The minimum was 10.2 degrees Celsius and maximum 25.2 degrees Celsius.

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