Delhi bans construction, trucks as air still 'severe'

Authorities activated the fourth and most severe stage of the Grap curbs on Sunday as the air quality slumped again with an AQI of 454, making it the fourth consecutive day of "severe" pollution that has smothered the region in a headache-inducing, throat-irritating haze.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

The curbs, under the graded response action plan (Grap), include a ban on all construction work and the entry of diesel vehicles into the city, where most older cars had already been ordered to keep off roads earlier last week.

As it ordered the fourth stage to be activated following an emergency meeting, the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Sunday cited weather forecasts that said conditions are likely to remain the same till Wednesday.

If that happens, the current spell of severe pollution (when AQI is above 400), could turn continued on into one of the longest streaks of days when millions of people are left with no choice but to breathe in air that causes discomfort, exacerbate disease and, ultimately, cut life expectancy.

"Delhi's air quality is likely to be in the 'severe' category from Monday till Wednesday. The outlook for the subsequent six days shows air quality is likely to remain in 'severe'," said the early warning system (EWS) that the CAQM relies on for its decisions.

To make matters worse, officials in Punjab said that their satellite-based remote sensing centre spotted 3,230 new farm fires, more than double the roughly 1,300 being spotted every day for the last three days. The highest single-day recording of farm fire this harvesting season was 1,921 on Wednesday.