Air Quality in Delhi–NCR Improves; Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Revokes GRAP III

After weeks of choking smog, air quality in Delhi–NCR showed marginal improvement on 27 November 2025, prompting the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to revoke Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). According to reports, while a private tracker recorded the AQI at an alarming 548, government monitors placed it at 349, still in the ‘very poor’ category but below the ‘severe’ threshold.
Source: The Indian Express

With GRAP III now lifted, limited industrial and construction activities can resume under regulated conditions. However, GRAP Stages I and II continue to remain in force, ensuring that measures such as intensified pollution checks, restrictions on certain vehicular activities, and enhanced dust-control operations remain active.

Health Concerns and Ongoing Risks

Despite the slight improvement, the air remains hazardous, with experts comparing a day’s exposure to the equivalent of inhaling smoke from several cigarettes. Vulnerable groups — children, the elderly, and people with respiratory illnesses — continue to be advised to limit outdoor activity. Hospitals also report higher cases of asthma, bronchitis, and eye irritation during this season, pointing to the persistent public-health burden created by winter pollution.

Structural Challenges and Policy Significance

The episode once again highlights Delhi-NCR’s chronic seasonal pollution cycle, driven by a combination of stubble burning, vehicular emissions, industrial activity, dust resuspension, and meteorological stagnation. While GRAP offers a graded crisis-response mechanism, experts repeatedly caution that it remains a reactive tool, not a long-term solution.