Delhi: GRAP stage 1 enforced, firecrackers banned until Jan 1

Capital faces two days of poor air quality as AQI reaches 234

- AIMAN FATIMA

NEW DELHI: As Delhiites endured a second consecutive day of poor air quality, with pollution levels reaching a reading of 234 on Monday, authorities swung into action to mitigate the rising smog. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data placed the Capital's Air Quality Index (AQI) in the "poor" category, prompting the Centre's air pollution control panel for Delhi-NCR to direct state governments to implement Stage 1 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). This comes on the heels of the Delhi government's announcement of a complete ban on firecrackers until January 1.

The AQI reading of 224 on Sunday, recorded after the Dussehra celebrations, marked Delhi's re-entry into the "poor" air quality category, 19 days since the last similar reading on September 25. With winter approaching and pollution levels expected to rise further, authorities have made early interventions to control the situation.

Stage 1 of the GRAP, which is triggered when the AQI falls between 201 and 300, is designed to curb pollution by enforcing several winter-specific anti-pollution measures.