Delhi AQI: GRAP-II Kicks In As Rohini Records 484, Delhi Air 'Hazardous' Ahead Of Diwali

Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index reached 451 at 8 am on Tuesday, pushing air quality into the "hazardous" band, ANI reported. The spike came just ahead of Diwali, with multiple monitoring stations across the capital slipping into severe and very poor categories.

Rohini Sector 30 was among the worst-hit locations. It recorded an AQI of 484 at 8.41 am on Tuesday, according to AQI.in. PM2.5 levels there stood at 359 µg/m³ and PM10 at 482 µg/m³. Wind speeds stayed under 6 km/h as smoky haze hung over the city.

AQI.in stated New Delhi ranked 18th among the most polluted cities in the world on Tuesday morning. Delhi Police also carried out a checking drive at the Ghazipur border on Tuesday as vehicle entry restrictions came into effect under tighter anti-pollution controls.

CPCB Station Readings

CPCB data showed the citywide spread. Several stations were in the severe category, while many others stayed in the very poor range.

In the severe category, Rohini recorded 429, Punjabi Bagh 424 and Bawana 408. These readings fall in the 401-500 bracket on the CPCB scale.

A wider set of stations remained in the very poor band. Patparganj recorded 379, RK Puram 374 and ITO 373. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium stood at 355, while Okhla Phase-2 and Chandni Chowk recorded 352 each. JNU posted 328.

Some stations were lower but still polluted. IGI Airport T3 recorded 287, Anand Vihar 279, Uttam Nagar 274 and IMD Lodhi Road 226. All four were in the poor category.

GRAP-II Invoked

The curbs were escalated a day earlier. The Commission for Air Quality Management invoked Stage-II of the Graded Response Action Plan across the entire NCR with immediate effect on Monday.

The GRAP sub-committee recorded a sharp rise in Delhi’s AQI over three days. It rose from 117 on October 31 to 261 on November 1 and then to 324 on Monday. The panel cited unfavourable weather conditions and forecasts by the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.

The November 2 order spelt out the decision. “Accordingly, the sub-committee decides to invoke all actions under Stage-II (‘very poor’ air quality) of the extant GRAP in the entire NCR, with immediate effect,” the order dated November 2 read.

Restrictions And Enforcement

Stage-II will run with Stage-I. The tighter measures now apply alongside the curbs that were already in force.

Enforcement has been widened across the region. Municipal corporations, traffic police and pollution control boards in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have been told to step up checks and compliance.

The measures include daily mechanical or vacuum sweeping and water sprinkling with dust suppressants on heavy-traffic corridors and congestion points. Authorities have been told to prioritise this before peak traffic hours. Agencies will also increase inspections and take remedial action at known pollution hotspots and construction and demolition sites across NCR.

Weather And Conditions

Weather conditions added to the problem. On Monday, Safdarjung recorded a maximum temperature of 29.5 degrees Celsius, one degree below normal.

The minimum temperature there was 16.4 degrees Celsius, 1.1 degrees above normal. The latest spike comes as Delhi grapples with another spell of worsening air quality ahead of Diwali.