Delhi air in ‘very poor’ category

NEW DELHI, (PTI): Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Monday morning and the city recorded a minimum temperature of 15 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season’s average.

With pollution levels worsening, the Centre’s air quality panel has directed the authorities to impose a ban on construction and demolition activities in the Delhi-NCR, except in essential projects, and other curbs under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

The relative humidity at 8.30 am stood at 90 per cent, officials said.

The weatherman predicted mainly clear skies for the day with the maximum temperature likely to settle at 32 degrees Celsius.

GRAP is a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in the capital and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation.

It classifies the air quality in the Delhi-NCR under four different stages: Stage I – ”Poor” (AQI 201-300); Stage II – ”Very Poor” (AQI 301-400); Stage III – ”Severe” (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV – ”Severe Plus” (AQI >450). (PTI)