After a brief relief of the last few days, Delhi’s air quality deteriorated again on Sunday, with the AQI plunging into the ‘very poor’ category.
The 24-hour average Air Quality Index of the city was recorded at 302 at 4 pm today, while the reading was 233 (poor category) on Saturday.
Of the 38 air quality monitoring stations in Delhi, 23 reported in the ‘very poor’ category on Sunday, 13 stations reported in the ‘poor’ category, while the rest were in the ‘moderate category’.
On Saturday, only two monitoring stations had reported in the ‘very poor’ category.
According to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the city's air quality was forecast to slip into the 'very poor' category on Sunday, December 10.
On Thursday, the central government’s air quality panel had revoked the restrictive pollution control measures under stages 3 and 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)’s order came after the air quality index was recorded in the "moderate" category with a reading of 165, bringing much relief to the Delhiites.
The Supreme Court allowed relaxation in the GRAP restrictions after noting that the AQI level did not cross 300 in the previous four days in the National Capital Region.
GRAP-4 pollution control measures were imposed in Delhi on November 18 as the air quality index deteriorated to ‘severe+’ for the first time this season. The AQI had touched 457 on November 17.
The air quality improved at the start of December, shifting first to the 'poor' category and then further to the 'moderate' category.