Delhi’s air worsens after GRAP-3 rollback, CAQM stays firm.
Delhi’s air quality slipped back to “very poor” with an AQI of 381, just a day after Stage-3 curbs were lifted, renewing public worry about unstable pollution control measures.
Delhi woke up on Thursday to yet another reminder of how fragile its winter air truly is. Just a day after the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) lifted Stage-3 restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), the city’s air deteriorated sharply, slipping deep into the “very poor” category and inching dangerously close to the “severe” mark.
By 4 pm, Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI stood at 377, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily bulletin. Four hours later, at 8 pm, it had climbed further to 381, firmly in the “very poor” zone and showing signs of continuing upward. As the evening wore on, several monitoring stations across the capital shaded into deep red, signalling air quality that had breached the “severe” threshold. For many residents, the return of this thick, hazy blanket of pollution felt like déjà vu — a cycle that plays out every winter, year after year.
The timing of the rollback has sparked fresh debate. The CAQM decided to ease Stage-3 curbs even as forecasts predicted no significant improvement in Delhi’s air over the next few days. This call came barely a week after the Supreme Court urged authorities to adopt “proactive action” when dealing with pollution — an appeal rooted in the frustration of watching reactive, short-lived measures produce little lasting change.
Yet on Thursday, despite the worsening AQI, no meeting was convened by the CAQM’s GRAP subcommittee. Officials maintained that the situation might improve slightly on Friday, suggesting that the spike could be temporary. But with pollution in Delhi known for its unpredictability — often flipping overnight from moderate to hazardous with the slightest shift in wind patterns — many questioned the wisdom of banking on forecasts.
Experts, too, voiced concern over the increasingly erratic on-off pattern in implementing GRAP restrictions. For them, the problem isn’t simply the pollution — it’s the repetitive, short-term decisions that fail to address the deeper issues.
IIT Delhi professor Mukesh Khare, a respected voice in environmental engineering, summed up the frustration succinctly. “There is not much difference between an AQI of 320 and 350,” he said, pointing out what many pollution-watchers already know.
His words reflect a broader sentiment among environmentalists: that decisions tied tightly to day-to-day AQI fluctuations make the city vulnerable to repeated lapses in air quality. Winter brings with it a familiar mix of cold air, low wind speed, and increased emissions from transport, industries, and household heating — a combination almost guaranteed to trap pollutants close to the ground. When restrictions are lifted too soon, the improvements that do occur are quickly undone.
For ordinary Delhi residents, this cycle has become exhausting. Commuters felt the sting in their eyes and the heaviness in their breath on Thursday morning. Parents worried about sending children outdoors. Elderly residents complained of coughing fits and breathlessness. Masks, once set aside after the pandemic, surfaced again — not as a health mandate, but as a personal defence.
Many residents feel that GRAP, though necessary, arrives each year like a bandage placed on a wound that needs stitches. It restricts construction, curbs industrial activity, reduces vehicular pollution — but only when things have already deteriorated significantly. Once the air improves slightly, the curbs are lifted, only for the pollution to balloon again days later.
This stop-start approach creates confusion for industries, stress for workers, and little long-term improvement for the city’s air. It also fuels public frustration, especially when decisions appear inconsistent or poorly timed.
As Thursday’s AQI numbers climbed, environmentalists reiterated that Delhi needs a more sustained, predictable, and preventive pollution-control strategy — one that doesn’t hinge on temporary improvements but acknowledges how vulnerable winter months are. This means maintaining certain restrictions longer, improving coordination across NCR, and addressing the root causes of emissions rather than merely reacting to spikes.
For now, Delhi waits — for the next forecast, the next decision, the next shift in wind direction. But as residents brace for another winter of smoky skies and restricted visibility, one thing feels increasingly clear: cleaner air cannot come from reactive adjustments alone. It requires a plan that looks beyond tomorrow’s AQI and takes seriously the lived reality of millions breathing the city’s air every day.