NEW DELHI: Delhi’s air quality remained predominantly in the “very poor” and “poor” categories on Wednesday morning, with the Commission for Air Quality Management implementing GRAP II measures and banning non-BS-VI compliant commercial vehicles from entering the capital from November 1.The Central Pollution Control Board reported that the Air Quality Index in RK Puram reached 308, while Anand Vihar recorded 307, both in the “very poor” category at 7:00 AM on Wednesday.Also read | Where ‘quality’ is merely a word: Delhi’s air back in ‘very poor’ zone; mercury dips to 15.8°C
Several other areas in Delhi showed concerning air quality levels. Ashok Vihar and Bawana registered AQI readings of 302 and 322 respectively, falling under the “very poor” category.Dwarka Sector 8 recorded an AQI of 298, ITO at 306, and Nehru Nagar at 294, all under the “poor” category. The Akshardham area showed an AQI of 307 in the “very poor” category, while India Gate recorded 282 in the “poor” category.Authorities deployed truck-mounted water sprinklers at Lodhi Road, where the AQI touched 226 in the “poor” category.Also read | Cloud seeding: Why Delhi’s artificial rain experiment failed? The CAQM’s official notification outlined strict measures regarding vehicle entry: “The Commission with a view to abate air pollution caused by high volume of transport/commercial goods vehicles entering into Delhi, in exercise of its powers conferred under Section 12(1) of the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2O21, issued Statutory Direction No. 88 dated 23.04.2025, directing for a strict ban on entry of all transport/ commercial goods vehicles viz. LGVs, MGVs and HGVs, other than BSVI, CNG, LNG and EVs, into the NCT of Delhi w.e.f. O1.11.2025 except such vehicles registered in Delhi.”Non-BS-VI compliant commercial vehicles will be allowed entry into Delhi only until October 31, 2026.The Delhi government has taken additional measures by completing two consecutive cloud seeding operations as part of its air quality management strategy.IIT Kanpur director Manindra Agrawal told TOI, “As per my knowledge, it did not rain in Delhi. The moisture content was low. However, our team has conducted different data for better understanding. Two additional attempts for cloud seeding will be conducted on Wednesday.”Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa commented on the cloud seeding initiative: “Our focus is to assess how much rainfall can be triggered under Delhi’s real-life humidity conditions. With every trial, science guides our actions–for the winter and all year round.”
(With agency inputs)