The Commission for Air Quality Management on Tuesday imposed Stage 1 restrictions to control pollution in the National Capital Region under the Graded Response Action Plan after the air quality plummeted to the “poor” level.

GRAP is a set of incremental anti-pollution measures that are triggered to prevent further worsening of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold in the Delhi-NCR region.

The first stage involves measures such as the mechanical sweeping of roads and sprinkling water on them to keep the dust from rising. It also bans some kinds of construction and demolition activities.

The commission said that its sub-committee on GRAP had noted that the AQI in Delhi had been recorded as 211 on Tuesday. The forecast by the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology suggests that the AQI will remain poor in the coming days, it added.

Air quality deteriorates sharply in the winter months in Delhi, which is often ranked the world’s most polluted capital. Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, along with falling temperatures, decreased wind speeds and emissions from industries and coal-fired plants contribute to the problem.

An index value between 0 and 50 indicates “good” air quality, between 51 and 100 indicates “satisfactory” air quality and between 101 and 200 indicates “moderate” air quality. As the index value increases further, air quality deteriorates. A value of 201 and 300 means “poor” air quality while between 301 and 400 indicates “very poor” air.

Between 401 and 450 indicates “severe” air pollution while anything above the 450 threshold is termed “severe plus”.

Stage 1 of GRAP is activated when the AQI is in the “poor” category. The second, third and fourth stages are activated when the AQI crosses the “very poor”, “severe” category and “severe plus” category.

On Tuesday, the commission said that the actions taken under Stage 1 of GRAP will be implemented, monitored and reviewed by all government agencies in the National Capital Region to ensure that the AQI levels do not plummet further.

It added that all implementing agencies will keep “strict vigil and intensify measures” as per GRAP.

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