{"id":39090,"date":"2024-01-15T07:23:17","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T01:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=39090"},"modified":"2025-04-24T01:30:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T20:00:36","slug":"aqi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/aqi\/","title":{"rendered":"Delhi AQI severe"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in news?<\/li>\n<li>What is Air Quality Index (AQI)?<\/li>\n<li>What is Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)?<\/li>\n<li>What is Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)?<\/li>\n<li>News Summary: Delhi AQI severe<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why in news?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The air quality in Delhi turned \u2018severe\u2019 as its average AQI was 447 on January 14.<\/li>\n<li>The sudden deterioration in air quality prompted the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to invoke stage 3 measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) across Delhi-NCR with immediate effect.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is Air Quality Index (AQI)?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>AQI was launched in October 2014 to disseminate information on air quality in an easily understandable form for the general public.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The measurement of air quality is based on eight pollutants, namely,\u00a0<u>PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Pb<\/u><\/li>\n<li>The AQI transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into a single number for ease of understanding.<\/li>\n<li><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-us.googleusercontent.com\/i84wqxSt9n8zxl-iYf84TYakXTBVnKxjoPNYMMLTc4l9HScFq7-Q0szvhr5MN_o8fj-hNlB5mQj26OBufnUp88TTS16r8rtVgKHz3cA5C5l79UwBoZiODc5z_HBL4MWdh3XDnaFs3cL_88tv3eMN2g\" alt=\"\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Image Caption: Air Quality Index<\/p>\n<h2>What is Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>CAQM is a statutory body formed under the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas, Act 2021.<\/li>\n<li>The commission aims at better coordination, research, identification, and resolution of problems related to air quality in NCR and adjoining areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>About\n<ul>\n<li>GRAP is a set of emergency measures that kick in to prevent further deterioration of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold in the Delhi-NCR region.<\/li>\n<li>It was approved by the Supreme Court in 2016 and notified in 2017.\n<ul>\n<li>The plan was formulated after several meetings between Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), state government and experts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>GRAP works only as an\u00a0<u>emergency measure<\/u>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The plan does not include action by various state governments to be taken throughout the year to tackle industrial, vehicular and combustion emissions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Nature\n<ul>\n<li><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-us.googleusercontent.com\/KNveIOWZtqsSYq1OYjG_J0HQJuFpWT2WOs2dss_Wd5rTcmkQlmJ2RI7ZzsODiKs4MF4K-BknwycbJ9MeT5lak-EHNAVoR6n91z6JHqYLQDb9QyKZB-jFVqTHrbE8fwSCr_7ckdpz8SSno0Czlc81FQ\" alt=\"\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Image Caption: Graded Response Action Plan<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>GRAP is incremental in nature and thus, when the air quality dips from \u2018poor\u2019 to \u2018very poor,\u2019 measures listed under both sections have to be followed.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Stage 1 of GRAP is activated when the AQI is in the \u2018poor\u2019 category (201 to 300);<\/li>\n<li>Stage 2 is when it\u2019s in the \u2018Very poor\u2019 category (301-400);<\/li>\n<li>Stage 3 is when the AQI is the \u2018Severe\u2019 category (401-450); and\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Stage 4 is when it rises to the \u2018Severe +\u2019 category (more than 450).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>News Summary: Delhi AQI severe<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Delhi\u2019s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 447 (severe) on January 14. As a result, CAQM invoked stage 3 measures under the GRAP across Delhi-NCR.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0sudden to a spike in pollution levels was due to the combination of:\n<ul>\n<li>low wind speed,\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>frigid temperatures,\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>rise in the moisture levels,\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>low mixing heights and\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>the impact of biomass combustion across the city the previous day led.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Invoked for the\u00a0<u>third time this winter season<\/u>, the eight measures include a ban on BS- III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers plying across Delhi-NCR region.<\/li>\n<li>The measures also effectively ban private construction in the region.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Q1)\u00a0Who is the National Capital Region (NCR)?<\/h3>\n<p>The National Capital Region (NCR) is a metropolitan area in India that includes the National Capital Territory of Delhi and surrounding urban areas in the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The NCR is a planning region centered on the National Capital Territory of Delhi. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.<\/p>\n<h3>Q2)\u00a0What are Bharat Stage (BS) Emission standards?<\/h3>\n<p>\u00a0Bharat Stage (BS) Emission Standards are government-mandated standards that regulate the amount of air pollutants that motor vehicles emit. All vehicles sold and driven in India must comply with these standards.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/cities\/delhi\/aqi-plummets-to-severe-in-delhi-ban-on-bs-iii-petrol-and-bs-iv-diesel-cars-9108764\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Delhi AQI severe, curbs back on cars and construction<\/u><\/a><u> | <\/u><a href=\"http:\/\/caqm.nic.in\/index1.aspx?lsid=11&amp;lev=2&amp;lid=17&amp;langid=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>CAQM<\/u><\/a><u> | <\/u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/cities\/delhi-news\/aqi-hits-severe-in-delhi-grap-stage-3-curbs-are-back-101705254341142.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Hindustan Times<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AQI disseminates information on air quality in an easily understandable form for the general public.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":39091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-39090","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}