After the government on Sunday evening invoked GRAP Stage II, which are mostly advisories in nature, Delhi’s air quality further worsened heading from “very poor” to “severe” category.

The average AQI at 1 PM was 359, further up from 352 at 8 AM. For the first time, some places reported AQI above 400, which is severe category.

The GRAP for Delhi-NCR is divided into four stages of air quality — Stage 1 for “poor” Air Quality Index (AQI) ranging between 201 and 300, Stage 2 for “very poor” AQI of 301-400, Stage 3 for “severe” AQI of 401-450 and Stage 4 for “severe plus” AQI more than 450. Last year, the GRAP II were invoked around November 1.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board data, the average AQI in Delhi was steadily rising since last night with bursting of fire crack

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