Delhi air quality remains in 'very poor' category, AQI at 337

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Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded on Wednesday at 337 by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). According to the SAFAR, Delhi's air quality was recorded in the 'very poor' category on Wednesday. Earlier on Tuesday, the national capital woke up to smog with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 340 by SAFAR. The Air Quality Index from 0 to 100 is considered as good, while from 100 to 200 it is moderate, from 200 to 300 it is poor, and from 300 to 400 it is said to be very poor and from 400 to 500 or above it is considered as severe.

Earlier on Sunday, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a Union government panel recommending steps to control air pollution in the national capital, announced a temporary ban on construction and demolition activities in Delhi-NCR as part of its Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The announcement came after the air quality in Delhi and the national capital region breached the 'severe' category.

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The CAQM, which on Sunday chaired a meeting to review the air quality in Delhi-NCR, put out a release saying, "As the AQI in Delhi has slipped into 'severe' category, the sub-committee had decided that all actions, as envisaged under Stage III of the GRAP, be implemented in right earnest by all the agencies concerned, with immediate effect in the NCR, in addition to all action under Stage I and Stage II of the GRAP." The panel had further observed that the air quality saw a further deterioration over the last 24 hours, with Delhi's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 407 on December 4, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

In its order, the CAQM said it temporarily banned construction activities, "with the exception of Metro Rail services, including stations; airport and inter-state bus terminals; railway services/stations; national security/defence-related activities/ projects of national importance; hospitals/healthcare facilities; linear public projects such as highways, roads, flyovers, overbridges, power transmission, pipelines; sanitation projects like sewage treatment plants and water supply projects; ancillary activities specific to and supplementing above categories of projects". Milk and dairy units and those involved in the manufacturing of life-saving medical equipment, drugs and medicines, were also exempted from the restrictions stipulated in the CAQM order.

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