As air pollution levels in Delhi reached alarming levels, authorities on Tuesday enforced Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) with immediate effect. The move came after the city’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) slipped into the ‘severe’ category for the first time this season, climbing from 362 on Monday to 425 by 9 am on Tuesday.

According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), 34 of Delhi’s 39 monitoring stations recorded ‘severe’ air quality levels at 7 am today. Some of the city’s most polluted areas included Bawana (AQI 462), Wazirpur (460), Mundka (452), and Punjabi Bagh (452).

An AQI between 51 and 100 is considered ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 ‘moderate’, 201–300 ‘poor’, 301–400 ‘very poor’ and above 400 ‘severe’. With Delhi’s pollution breaching the

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