Meanwhile, the city was also unusually warm on Thursday, with the maximum temperature clocking 27.1°C – seven degrees above normal and the highest for Delhi in January in seven years. The last time it was higher was 28.7°C on January 21, 2019.

Environmental experts, however, questioned the timing of CAQM’s decision to ease restrictions, and called for the Grap implementation process to be automated to avoid any “rush”.

Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI stood at 322 (very poor) at 4pm on Thursday, down from Wednesday’s reading of 330 (very poor) at the same time, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also issued a “yellow” alert for Friday, forecasting light rain and gusty winds up to 40 km/hr as a western disturbance is likely to impact northwest India.

With Grap-3 restrictions being lifted, construction and demolition, mining and other allied activities can resume in the NCR. The restriction on BS-III petrol and BS-IV vehicles from plying in the region has also been eased with immediate effect, among other vehicular restrictions.

“Delhi’s average AQI on Thursday was recorded at 322 (very poor), as per the daily AQI Bulletin provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), clearly indicating a downward trend. As per the dynamic model and forecasts for meteorological conditions and AQI made available by the IMD and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), the average AQI of Delhi is likely to remain in the “moderate” to “poor” category in the coming days,” CAQM stated.

It added that due to the disruptive nature of Grap-3 restrictions and the forecasts, it was unanimously agreed to lift the measures in the entire NCR region with immediate effect.

The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi forecasts “moderate” AQI on both Friday and Saturday, with “poor” AQI likely on Sunday.

On Thursday, Delhi’s minimum temperature stood at 6.3°C, which was a degree below normal. “We have been seeing above-normal maximum temperatures for the past few days. On Thursday, we had mainly clear skies and winds were mostly calm during the day. This allowed temperature to rise rapidly. However, from Friday, the maximum is likely to dip again, and the city may see some rain activity,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet.

Forecasts show that the minimum is expected to be between 11-13°C on Friday, with the maximum hovering between 18-20°C.

Sunil Dahiya, city-based environmentalist and founder of think tank Envirocatalysts said that Grap implementation should be automated. “We need to remove human interventions and make it a fairly automated process, based on forecasts. Not only does it waste resources, but it also shows that the forecasts can be relied upon for the easing of Grap restrictions. We should also be able to rely on them to invoke Grap in advance. The latter is rarely done.”

Meanwhile, CAQM also shared data from its Enforcement Task Force (ETF), which had held a meeting on January 21. It said the ETF reviewed the enforcement and inspection activities carried out across the NCR during the reporting period from January 7 till 19.

CAQM said that sector-wise, inspections were carried out at 241 industries, 22 diesel generator sets and five C&D sites. Further, 62 road stretches were inspected for assessment of road dust and waste accumulation. Out of these, 90 violations were reported, comprising 66 violations in the industrial sector, two involving DG sets, four at C&D sites and 18 related to road dust, it said in a report – adding show cause notices were recommended in 72 cases.