Delhi records air quality in 'very poor' category for third consecutive day

Delhi recorded its air quality in the very poor category for the third consecutive day on Monday and it is likely to deteriorate further in the coming days due to unhelpful meteorological conditions, forecasting agencies said.

The capital's 24-hour average air quality index worsened from 339 on Sunday to 354 on Monday. It was 381 on Saturday.

Farm fires in Punjab rebounded -- 2,487 incidents were reported on Monday as compared to 599 a day ago.

However, their share in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution dipped from 18 per cent on Sunday to 14 per cent on Monday, according to data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute and SAFAR, a forecasting agency under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Delhi government on Monday decided to reopen primary classes from November 9 and revoke the order asking 50 per cent of its staff to work from home in view of improvement in the city's air quality over the last two days.

However, plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi will remain banned under stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai told a press conference.

With air pollution ameliorating in Delhi, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Sunday directed authorities to lift the ban on plying of non-BS VI diesel light motor vehicles in the region and the entry of trucks into the capital imposed under the final stage of the GRAP.

It had also banned construction work in public projects such as highways, flyovers, power transmission, and pipelines in Delhi-NCR.

The CAQM order recommending the restrictions was issued on Thursday.

Restrictions under stages 1 to 3 of the GRAP, will, however, remain in place. The plan is a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in the capital and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation.

High pollution levels had prompted the Delhi government to announce additional measures on Friday, including the closure of primary schools from Saturday and work from home for 50 per cent of its staff.