India, May 17 -- The Commission of Air Quality Management (CQAM) has enforced Stage-I restrictions of the Graded Response Action Plan or GRAP in Delhi-NCR after pollution levels remained high despite earlier forecasts predicting improvement.

The decision was made after a detailed review by the CAQM sub-committee, which convened on Friday. The panel noted that strong winds had carried dust into the city from distant areas, worsening the air quality. Experts called this a short-term but serious pollution event.

On May 15, the capital's AQI dropped sharply and on May 16, the AQI stood at 278 - classified as 'Poor'. Weather forecasts from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) sugge...