New Delhi Air Pollution Live: The Centre on Friday, December 22, reimposed Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage-3 in Delhi. As a part of the ruling, non-essential construction work has been banned in Delhi-NCR as the Centre brought back Stage-III GRAP curbs under its air pollution control plan. Curbs have also been imposed on plying of BS III petrol, BS IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi-NCR amid worsening air quality, said the order.

AQI stayed at 361 in last 24 hours

The Central Pollution Control Board's numbers indicate that the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stayed at 361, in the "very poor" category.

An AQI of 0–50 is regarded as "good," 51–100 as "satisfactory," 101–200 as "moderate," 201–300 as "poor," 301–400 as "very poor," and 401–500 as “severe.”

According to the data, burning biomass contributed 34% of the PM2.5 concentration on Thursday at 5 p.m., while emissions from cars contributed 35%. An additional 6% was contributed by burning of garbage and plastic.

“Delhi’s air quality is likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ category from December 22 to December 24. The outlook for the subsequent six days shows the air quality is likely to remain between ‘very poor’ and ‘poor’,” said the Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi, a forecasting model under the ministry of earth sciences. 

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department forecast that Delhi would witness moderate rain on Friday, bringing the city's minimum temperature down to 5 degrees Celsius. The city's minimum temperature on Thursday was 6.4 degrees Celsius, which is two degrees colder than the season's normal. As per the IMD weather bulletin, the temperature reached a high of 23 degrees Celsius, which is somewhat higher than average.

Centre had earlier invoked GRAP Stage III on Nov 2

The Centre's pollution control panel had earlier invoked GRAP Stage III restrictions on November 2. Later, the Centre on November 28, had directed the lifting of Stage-III GRAP across the entire National Capital Region (NCR), citing an improvement in air quality.

The decision was taken after the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), a statutory body tasked with devising measures to address pollution in the region, met on Tuesday to discuss the notable enhancement in the overall air quality of Delhi-NCR.