The air quality in the national capital remained in the 'severe' category for a second day on Thursday, with low wind speed contributing to a thick fog layer across the national capital. However, Environment Minister Gopal Rai earlier in the day said that the third phase of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP 3) will not be imposed for now.
What Gopal Rai said on air pollution?
Gopal Rai said that in the last two days, for the first time this season, AQI has gone above 400 in Delhi and many have questions in their minds about why the AQI which was in the 'poor' or 'very poor' category since October 14 suddenly went into the 'severe' category.
He also added that meteorologists have reported that due to snowfall in the mountains, Delhi's temperature has dropped, and because of this, dry conditions have been created in the morning and evening throughout North India.
Why GRAP 3 measures will not be imposed?
“There is a possibility of improvement in the pollution level from tomorrow, due to which Grap 3 is not being imposed in Delhi. Today we are again giving instructions that the rules made under Grap 2 should be followed on the ground so that Grap 3 does not have to be implemented. If the pollution again goes into the ‘severe’ category then the Delhi government will take all the necessary steps and will work together with the people of Delhi,” Rai said.
As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) was measured at 428 at 9 am, placing it in the 'severe' category. Out of the total Delhi's 39 monitoring stations, 32 recorded AQI levels over 400, including Anand Vihar, IGI Airport, Mandir Marg, and Patparganj.
Flight operations hit at IGI airport
Due to heavy pollution and dense fog, several flight operations were affected at Delhi airport on Thursday. As per the Flightradar 24, over 300 flights have been delayed at the Delhi Airport and a total of 115 flights arriving in Delhi since 12 am, and 226 flights departing from the national capital have been delayed, the flight tracker website said.
The Delhi airport issued an advisory for passengers, alerting them of the low visibility. “Low visibility procedures in progress at Delhi Airport. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information,” it wrote on X.
