{"id":43528,"date":"2025-10-27T01:31:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T20:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=43528"},"modified":"2025-10-30T12:55:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T07:25:14","slug":"delhis-aqi-hits-severe-plus-grap-stage-iv-restrictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/delhis-aqi-hits-severe-plus-grap-stage-iv-restrictions\/","title":{"rendered":"Delhi&#8217;s AQI Hits Severe Plus: Grap Stage IV Restrictions Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/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>What is banned under Grap Stage IV?\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has enforced Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) in Delhi-NCR. This measure follows the region\u2019s Air Quality Index (AQI) crossing into the \u2018severe plus\u2019 category, signalling a critical air pollution emergency.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is Air Quality Index (AQI)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"image image_resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vajiram-prod.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/AQI_83318a9663.webp\" alt=\"AQI.webp\" \/><\/figure>\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.<\/li>\n<li>The measurement of air quality is based on eight pollutants, namely, PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Pb<\/li>\n<li>The AQI transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into a single number for ease of understanding.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What is Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/commission-for-air-quality-management\/\" target=\"_blank\">CAQM<\/a> 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><strong>What is Graded Response Action Plan?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>About<\/strong>\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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The plan was formulated after several meetings between Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), state government and experts.\n<ul>\n<li>GRAP works only as an emergency measure.<\/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><strong>Nature<\/strong>\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.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Grap-I (AQI 201-300): <\/strong>Advisories, dust control, and bans on open burning.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Grap-II (AQI 301-400)<\/strong>: Diesel generator restrictions, enhanced cleaning, and road sprinkling.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Grap-III (AQI 401-450):<\/strong> Non-essential construction bans, vehicle entry restrictions, and curbs on industrial activity.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Grap-IV (AQI above 450):<\/strong> Complete construction halts, school closures, and stringent vehicle limitations.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What is banned under Grap Stage IV?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Entry of non-essential trucks and non-BS-VI light commercial vehicles into Delhi is prohibited.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Diesel-operated medium and heavy goods vehicles (BS-IV and older) are barred, except those carrying essential items.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>All construction and demolition activities for public infrastructure projects, such as roads, highways, flyovers, and power lines, are suspended.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The order prohibits entry of trucks into Delhi unless they are carrying essential goods or operating on clean fuels.\n<ul>\n<li>Non-essential light commercial vehicles registered outside Delhi are also barred, except for those running on electric, CNG, or BS-VI diesel engines.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The panel suggested that offices in the National Capital Region operate at 50 per cent capacity, with the remainder working from home.\n<ul>\n<li>Work-from-home options may also be implemented for central government employees.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>State governments have been advised to consider closing colleges, restricting non-essential commercial activities, and introducing odd-even vehicle rules.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q.1. What is the Air Quality Index (AQI)?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>AQI, launched in 2014, simplifies air pollution data into a single number. It measures eight pollutants, including PM2.5 and NO2, making air quality understandable for the public.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q.2. What are Grap Stage IV restrictions?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Stage IV bans non-essential trucks, BS-IV diesel vehicles, construction activities, and recommends work-from-home for employees. Schools go online for most classes to combat severe air pollution.<\/p>\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/cities\/delhi\/delhi-air-severe-plus-more-curbs-kick-in-schools-go-online-barring-classes-10-12-9675058\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">GRAP 4 Restrictions: Delhi air \u2018severe plus\u2019, more curbs kick in, schools go online barring Classes 10, 12<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/caqm.nic.in\/index1.aspx?lsid=11&amp;lev=2&amp;lid=17&amp;langid=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CAQM<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/india-news\/delhi-s-aqi-turns-severe-plus-grap-stage-vi-rules-kick-in-key-points-124111800170_1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Business Standard<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/india\/grap-4-restrictions-in-delhi-due-to-severe-air-pollution-check-whats-allowed-and-whats-not\/articleshow\/115389241.cms?from=mdr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Economic Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Delhi&#8217;s air quality deteriorates to &#8216;severe plus&#8217; category, prompting Stage IV restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap). Discover the measures and their implications for Delhi-NCR.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":43529,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-43528","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\/43528","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=43528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}