New Delhi, Dec. 21 -- : Every winter, as a thick haze settles over Delhi and its neighbouring cities, authorities activate a familiar set of emergency measures known as the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The framework, designed to curb air pollution during peak smog months, often between October and January, dictates what activities are allowed and what are not as the Air Quality Index (AQI) worsens across the region, breaching hazardous levels.
GRAP is implemented across the National Capital Region (NCR), covering Delhi and parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and is enforced by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on the basis of real-time and forecasted AQI data. GRAP is a tiered emergency response system that...