Delhi air quality remains very poor with AQI at 364
Several areas in the capital recorded severe pollution levels as Stage III GRAP measures remain in effect.
Delhi recorded an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 364 at 8 am on Saturday, placing the city in the 'very poor' category, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data reported by The Tribune and ANI.
While the citywide reading showed a slight improvement from Friday's 389, 18 of the 59 monitoring stations recorded 'severe' levels. Specific locations such as IIT-Delhi, Punjabi Bagh, and Narela all fell within the 401 to 500 'severe' range.
The pollution levels come as the Sub-Committee on the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked Stage III across Delhi-NCR on Friday. This emergency framework applies to Delhi and parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
Under the Stage III mandates, authorities have suspended non-essential, dust-heavy construction and demolition work. The rules also include restrictions on certain vehicles, such as BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers, and tighter controls on non-Delhi-registered diesel commercial vehicles.
The Delhi Directorate of Education has directed all government and private schools to move classes up to Class 5 to a hybrid learning model. This allows students to attend lessons either in person or online to limit exposure to toxic air, as reported by The Hindu.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) noted misty conditions at New Delhi-Safdarjung, where the temperature was 17.0°C at 5:30 am.