NEW DELHI: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Friday invoked Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR as a precautionary measure ahead of Diwali, amid worsening air pollution in the region.Delhi continued to grapple with hazardous air quality, with the city’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 389 in the ‘very poor’ category at 8am today, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.Several monitoring stations in the national capital recorded ‘severe’ air quality levels. IIT Delhi and Rohini topped the list with an AQI of 474 each, followed by Punjabi Bagh at 465, RK Puram at 443, ITO at 422, Firoz Shah Road at 420 and India Gate at 403.Meanwhile, municipal authorities deployed truck-mounted water sprinklers around India Gate as part of dust-control measures.Other areas also reported ‘very poor’ air quality. Anand Vihar and Akshardham recorded an AQI of 359, while IGI Airport Terminal 3 registered 385. The AQI stood at 393 in Aya Nagar and 391 in Chandni Chowk, according to CPCB data.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported a morning temperature of 17.8°C for Delhi. Skies remain mainly clear. IMD forecasts shallow fog over the next four days, transitioning to early morning fog or mist on November 10-11.Earlier on Thursday, Delhi nevironment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa contested Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s claims regarding paddy harvesting, alleging that he had misinformed about paddy harvesting and stubble burning. He underlined that stubble burning has severely impacted the air quality of the national capital.Addressing the media at the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) in Shastri Park, Sirsa slammed Mann, claiming that 77 per cent of the stubble has been burnt, according to the Punjab government itself.“Yesterday, Bhagwant Mann held a press conference and falsely claimed that the harvesting of paddy has not yet begun; however, according to the data provided by his own government, 77 per cent of the stubble (parali) has already been burnt,” he said.(With agency inputs)