New Delhi, April 3 The Commission for Air Quality Management decided on Friday against imposing GRAP restrictions in the Delhi-NCR region, despite the air quality deteriorating to the poor category, officials said.
According to the AQI bulletin issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's daily average AQI breached the 200 mark on Thursday, reaching 266 (poor category).
"The Commission for Air Quality Management sub-committee on GRAP held a meeting to review the current air quality situation in the region, as well as the forecast for meteorological conditions and AQI provided by IMD and IITM," a senior official said.
"The panel, while reviewing the current air quality situation of Delhi-NCR and the forecast for weather and meteorological conditions, noted that Delhi's AQI, which was recorded at 194 yesterday, has sharply deteriorated to 266 at 4 pm today, due to the dust storm in the early morning," the official added.
The commission also noted that the weather or AQI forecast indicates the possibility of light rain tonight and tomorrow, with favourable meteorological conditions in the coming days.
"Given that the dynamic model and forecast for weather or meteorological conditions and AQI indicate that Delhi's AQI will remain in the 'Moderate' category in the coming days, the committee decided that invoking stage-I of GRAP is not required at the moment. The commission is closely monitoring the situation and will review the air quality situation of Delhi-NCR accordingly," the official said.
All restrictions imposed in Delhi-NCR under GRAP were revoked on March 16 after a significant improvement in air quality.