New Delhi: Pollution levels in Delhi-NCR, which had crossed the 500-mark on Monday and stayed there, has started dropping, indicating that the stringent GRAP 4 measures have started taking effect. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Arvind Nautiyal, Member-Secretary of the Commission for Air Quality Management, said the Air Quality Index or AQI -- which measures pollutants - that had been 500, has come down to 467.
"Today, the visibility has improved. There has been some change in the weather, but the pollution has reduced due to GRAP-IV," he told NDTV.
On Monday, the pollution level had suddenly spiked and the situation was not much better this morning, with the AQI staying at 500 in some parts. According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) data, Delhi's overall AQI was 494 at 6 am -- in the 'severe plus' category..
"The pollution level had increased a lot in the entire city... and the AQI level had reached close to 500... We have 40 pollution monitoring centers in Delhi-NCR," he said.
The meteorological department has predicted that the weather will improve in the coming days and more impact of GRAP-IV can be seen.
The weather has been unpredictable this year as the winter smog hit the city in November -- far ahead of its usual December-January schedule.
"The AQI increased by 90 points in a day, which was unexpected. That is why we had to implement GRAP-IV quickly," Mr Nautiyal added.
After implementing GRAP IV measures, which include stopping of construction work and entry of heavy vehicles registered outside Delhi, and ordering schools to go online, Delhi is now considering cloud seeding to induce artificial rain. There is also talk of re-introducing the odd-even road rationing scheme and work from home for offices.