Delhi air nears ‘severe’ level; CAQM delays Stage 3 steps

FOr a endorse sequentially daylight on lord's day, new delhi’s air quality index jumped sharply — it reached 366 at 4pm — as a thick, toxic haze blanketed the capital through the day. Yet the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) failed to trigger stricter pollution controls under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) mandated by the Supreme Court.Last year, in December, the Supreme Court directed the air regulatory body set up for Delhi-NCR to alter its threshold at which Grap is implemented. The court on December 5 directed the CAQM to implement Stage 3, or ‘severe’ category measures, once the AQI becomes 350 or more, instead of the original 400. The CAQM was also asked to invoke Stage 4, or measures under the ‘severe-plus’ category, at an AQI of 400 or more — 50 points lower than the defined threshold of 450. It had also suggested the CAQM to include some additional measures of GRAP-3 in Stage 2 curbs.Measures under Stage 3 include a ban on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar, blanket curbs on private construction and demolitions, and restrictions on the use of stone crushers, mining and associated activities. Schools up to Class 5 in Delhi-NCR are also required to shift to “hybrid” lessons. On Sunday, the 24-hour rolling average AQI touched a peak of 388 (very poor) at 10 am, while the 4pm reading was 366, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily national bulletin.However, in place currently is only Stage 2 of Grap, which came into force on October 19 when the AQI went beyond the 300-mark.Since then, the AQI has breached the 350-mark four times, according to data analysed by HT. The CPCB did not respond to HT’s queries on why Stage 3 of Grap has not been implemented so far. But an official aware of the matter said that following the SC’s suggestion last year, the board took steps to make measures under Grap more stringent and effective. A revised Grap was issued on December 13 last year, which shifted certain measures from stage 3 to stage 2, while introducing some new measures.CAQM then decided to revert to its original threshold. “Following that, it was decided that stage 3 and 4 measures will be invoked as per the original thresholds of 400 and 450,” the official, who did not want to be named said.Experts, however, said that while a stricter Grap helps combat AQI, it’s effects are negated if it is not proactively implemented in line with air quality forecasts.The official added that CAQM was “closely” monitoring Delhi’s situation, even as citizens continue to breathe with difficulty, along with watery eyes and scratchy throats. The dominant pollutant on Sunday, according to CPCB, was PM2.5. Long-term exposure to PM2.5 can impair lung function, particularly in children and adolescents.A day ago, on Saturday, the AQI was recorded at 303.CAQM invoked Stage 1 of the Grap on October 14, when the AQI crossed the 200-mark. Stage 1 puts a ban on operations at unregistered construction sites with an area of more than 500 sqm. Stage 2 restricts the entry of interstate buses (other than EVs / CNG / BS-VI diesel) from NCR states into Delhi, while also calling for an increase in parking charges to discourage use of private transport.Last year, the top court had pulled up the CAQM and other agencies over failure to promptly implement Grap and monitor its implementation in Delhi-NCR. In its order dated December 5, a bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masihin the matter of M.C. Mehta Vs. Union of India & Ors said,“…We must record here that if the Commission finds that the AQI goes above 350, as a precautionary measure, Stage-3 measures will have to be immediately implemented. If the AQI crosses 400 on a given day, Stage-4 measures will have to be reintroduced…”Experts stressed on the need to implement measures under Grap in line with air quality forecasts.“The aim should have been to – based on forecasts – preventing AQI from touching 350. However, once that threshold has been breached, the CAQM has the authority to invoke Stage 3 or any additional measures,” said Sunil Dahiya, founder and lead analyst at Envirocatalsysts.Dipankar Saha, former head of CPCB’s air laboratory, said air quality forecasts must be used to implement measures before the air quality worsens. By the time the AQI becomes “severe”, residents have already faced high exposure to particulate matter and gases like ozone,he added.The air quality is predicted to worsen further and become severe this week, according to forecasts by the Centre’s Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi. “Delhi’s air quality is very likely to be in the ‘very poor’ category from Sunday till Monday. The air quality is very likely to be in the ‘severe’ category on Tuesday, before once again returning to ‘very poor’ on Wednesday,” the EWS bulletin stated.An AQI of 51-100 is classified as “satisfactory”, between 101-200 as “moderate”, between 201-300 as “poor”, between 301-400 as “very poor”, and over 400, it is considered “severe”, according to CPCB.