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Delhi woke up to a hazy morning on Thursday, with the city's air quality remaining in the 'very poor' category at 352, as of 8 am.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the monitoring station at Anand Vihar reported an AQI of 408 and Vivek Vihar 415, categorised as 'Severe' air quality, as of 8 am. Meanwhile, several monitoring stations reported 'very poor' air quality. As of 8 am, Ashok Vihar reported an AQI of 388, Aya Nagar 331, Bawana 387, Burari Crossing 369, Dwarka Sector-8 371, IGI Airport T3 320, ITO 370, Lodhi Road 334, Mundka 364, Najafgarh 338, Narela 371, Punjabi Bagh 368, Patparganj 386, RK Puram 374 and Sirifort 381 -- all categorised as 'very poor'. Truck-mounted water sprinklers have been deployed at various areas of the city to combat air pollution. Post-Diwali, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) has been reeling under the 'poor' and 'very poor' categories in several areas, even as Stage 2 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) remains in effect. Meanwhile, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Wednesday announced doubling of parking fees across the national capital after the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage-II was invoked due to deteriorating air quality. The decision, aimed at discouraging the use of private vehicles, will see parking charges double for off-road and indoor parking areas managed by the NDMC. Additionally, the CAQM has prohibited the entry of commercial goods vehicles registered outside the national capital that remain non-compliant with BS-VI emission standards from November 1. According to the notification, non-BS-VI compliant commercial goods vehicles are allowed to enter Delhi only until October 31, 2026. The Delhi government completed two consecutive cloud seeding operations as part of its robust air quality management strategy. Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that with this move, the national capital has taken an unprecedented, science-first step by adopting cloud seeding as a tool to control air pollution. "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." (ANI)
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