New Delhi: Amid concerns over deteriorating air quality ahead of Diwali, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Friday invoked Stage three measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR.
According to the commission, Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 382 in the 'very poor' category at 4 pm on Thursday.
In its daily bulletin, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, forecast that air quality would remain in the 'very poor' category on November 6 and deteriorate to the 'severe' category from November 7 to 9.
"The outlook for the subsequent 6 days: The air quality is likely to be in the 'severe' to 'very poor' category," the bulletin said.
GRAP is a set of emergency measures implemented in phases to prevent further deterioration of air quality.
Under Stage 3, strict restrictions apply to dust-generating and air-polluting construction and demolition (C&D) activities across the National Capital Region (NCR).
The Delhi government and state governments in the NCR are also required to decide whether public, municipal and private offices should operate with 50 per cent of their staff working from offices and the remaining employees working from home.
Stage 1 of GRAP is invoked when the AQI is between 201 and 300, while Stage 2 applies when it is between 301 and 400. Stage 3 is triggered when the AQI is between 401 and 450, and Stage IV when it is above 450.
