GRAP-3 Curbs In Delhi: Air Quality Turns ‘Severe’ For First Time This Season As Emergency Restrictions Begin

Key Highlights

• Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) surged from 362 to 425 on November 11, 2025, marking the first ‘severe’ air quality day of the season and triggering Stage-III GRAP restrictions across NCR
• BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers banned, schools up to Class 5 shifted to hybrid mode, and all non-essential construction activities completely halted under emergency measures
• Stubble burning incidents declined by 35.2% in Punjab (4,062 fires) and 65.3% in Haryana (333 fires) compared to last year, while Delhi’s average AQI from January to November 9 improved to 175 from 189 in 2024

Opening Overview

Delhi residents woke up to choking air quality on November 11, 2025, as GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi became necessary when the Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 425, the capital’s first ‘severe’ pollution day this season. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked Stage-III restrictions with immediate effect across the National Capital Region after the AQI jumped sharply from 362 on November 10, attributed to calm winds, stable atmospheric conditions, and unfavorable meteorological patterns that prevented pollutant dispersion. The sudden deterioration has placed millions under stringent anti-pollution measures as GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi now include bans on construction, vehicle restrictions, and school closures to protect vulnerable populations.

Multiple monitoring stations across the capital recorded alarming pollution levels, with Bawana registering the highest AQI of 462, followed by RK Puram at 446, Alipur at 442, and Patparganj at 438. The crisis marks a critical juncture in the city’s ongoing battle against winter air pollution, with GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi representing the second-highest level of emergency response under the four-stage Graded Response Action Plan framework. Despite year-long improvements, the seasonal spike demonstrates the persistent challenges facing Delhi-NCR, where particulate matter concentrations regularly exceed World Health Organization guidelines by significant margins.

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— Congress (@INCIndia) November 12, 2025

Understanding GRAP-3 Restrictions and Their Implementation

• GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi encompass nine specific action points targeting construction, vehicular emissions, industrial operations, and public activities to prevent further air quality deterioration
• The restrictions apply across the entire NCR, including districts in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, affecting millions of residents and businesses simultaneously

GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi follow a scientifically designed framework activated when AQI levels breach the 401-450 range, classified as ‘severe’ under Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standards. The Commission for Air Quality Management issued a comprehensive nine-point action plan that builds upon existing Stage-I and Stage-II measures already in force, creating a layered approach to pollution control. The Sub-Committee on GRAP made the decision after continuous monitoring revealed that meteorological conditions would likely worsen before improving, necessitating preemptive action to protect public health.

The strictest GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi include a complete ban on non-essential construction and demolition activities throughout NCR, encompassing earthwork, excavation, piling, trenching, and open-air operations of Ready-Mix Concrete plants. Transportation of construction materials such as sand, cement, and aggregates on unpaved roads has been prohibited, while stone crushers, mining operations, and hot-mix plants not running on clean fuels face immediate closure. Industrial units operating on unapproved or polluting fuels must halt operations, though essential infrastructure projects related to railways, metro construction, airports, defense, sanitation, and healthcare facilities remain exempt under strict dust and waste management protocols.

Vehicular restrictions under GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi specifically target older, more polluting vehicles, with BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers prohibited from plying on Delhi-NCR roads. Inter-state diesel buses entering or operating within Delhi face restrictions, while diesel generator sets cannot operate except for emergency and essential services. Private companies and organizations have been advised to implement work-from-home or hybrid working arrangements to reduce vehicular emissions during peak pollution hours. These transportation measures aim to cut emissions from one of Delhi’s largest pollution sources, as vehicle exhaust contributes significantly to PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations during winter months.

Educational institutions face modified operations under GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi, with schools up to Class 5 mandated to shift to hybrid mode, allowing both online and in-person classes to minimize young children’s exposure to toxic air. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced these measures recognizing that children represent the most vulnerable population segment affected by severe air pollution. Mechanical road cleaning and water sprinkling operations have been intensified across all major roads to suppress dust, while authorities conduct rigorous monitoring to ensure compliance with the emergency restrictions.

Air Quality Data Reveals Severe Pollution Crisis Across Delhi-NCR

Source: Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), November 11, 2025

The implementation of GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi follows established protocols under the Commission for Air Quality Management Act, 2021, which empowers CAQM to issue emergency directions across NCR jurisdictions. Senior officers from state governments of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan coordinate with CAQM to ensure uniform enforcement of restrictions across the entire airshed. Violations of GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi attract penalties under environmental compensation regulations, with enforcement teams conducting inspections at construction sites, industrial units, and checkpoints to monitor compliance.

Year-Long Air Quality Trends Show Mixed Progress

• Delhi’s average AQI from January 1 to November 9, 2025, improved to 175 compared to 189 during the corresponding period in 2024, indicating overall progress despite seasonal spikes
• PM2.5 concentrations decreased from 87 µg/m³ to 75 µg/m³, while PM10 levels dropped from 191 µg/m³ to 170 µg/m³ year-over-year, according to Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change data

Despite the severe conditions necessitating GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi, government data reveals measurable improvements in annual air quality metrics for 2025. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change reported that Delhi’s average AQI between January 1 and November 9, 2025, registered at 175, demonstrating a decline from 189 during the same period in 2024. This year-long improvement suggests that sustained anti-pollution efforts, including year-round implementation of Stage-I GRAP measures and stricter emission controls, have yielded tangible benefits even as seasonal deterioration remains a persistent challenge.

Particulate matter concentrations, the primary concern driving GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi, showed encouraging downward trends across the measurement period. PM2.5 levels, representing fine particulate matter that penetrates deep into lungs and bloodstream, averaged 75 µg/m³ from January through early November 2025, down from 87 µg/m³ in 2024. Similarly, PM10 concentrations decreased to 170 µg/m³ from 191 µg/m³, reflecting reduced dust and coarser particulate pollution. These improvements align with the broader eight-year trend showing Delhi’s best average AQI performance for January-August 2025 since 2018, excluding the pandemic-affected year 2020 when lockdowns artificially suppressed emissions.

However, the necessity for GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi underscores that seasonal pollution spikes continue to pose severe public health risks despite annual improvements. The World Health Organization’s updated air quality guidelines recommend annual mean PM2.5 concentrations not exceed 5 µg/m³, meaning Delhi’s average levels remain fifteen times higher than WHO standards even during relatively cleaner months. The 24-hour PM2.5 guideline of 15 µg/m³ gets exceeded by massive margins during pollution episodes, with severe category days seeing concentrations potentially reaching 200-300 µg/m³ or higher. This stark disparity between Delhi’s air quality and international health benchmarks explains why GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi trigger at AQI 401, a level that WHO classifies as hazardous to all population segments.

The Central Pollution Control Board’s continuous monitoring network provides real-time data supporting decisions on GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi, with 38 monitoring stations across the capital reporting hourly measurements. This extensive surveillance infrastructure enables authorities to track pollution patterns across different localities, identifying hotspots and temporal variations that inform targeted interventions. The CPCB’s AQI calculation incorporates multiple pollutants including PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and carbon monoxide, though particulate matter consistently emerges as the dominant concern requiring GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi during winter months.

Stubble Burning Reduction Shows Environmental Policy Success

Sources: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Commission for Air Quality Management

Agricultural residue burning, historically a major contributor necessitating GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi each winter, demonstrated significant decline in 2025 compared to previous years. Punjab recorded 4,062 stubble burning incidents between September 15 and November 9, 2025, representing a 35.2% reduction from the 6,266 incidents during the corresponding period in 2024. Haryana achieved even more dramatic progress, with only 333 farm fires compared to 959 the previous year, marking a 65.3% decline that reflects aggressive enforcement and farmer adoption of alternative crop residue management technologies.

The Commission for Air Quality Management attributes the stubble burning reduction to coordinated efforts between central and state governments, including financial incentives for farmers purchasing crop residue management equipment, strict enforcement with environmental compensation penalties, and expanded in-situ crop residue management programs. Direction No. 95 issued by CAQM on October 1, 2025, established comprehensive action plans for preventing and controlling paddy stubble burning with the explicit goal of complete elimination, deploying satellite monitoring and ground enforcement teams to detect and penalize violations. Despite these improvements reducing one pollution source, the continuation of GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi demonstrates that multiple emission sources including vehicular traffic, construction dust, industrial emissions, and biomass burning collectively contribute to seasonal air quality crises.

Long-term data compiled by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research’s CREAMS laboratory reveals dramatic five-year progress, with Punjab’s stubble burning incidents dropping from 41,176 in September-November 2020 to 2,262 in 2025, representing a 94.5% reduction over the period. This transformational change reflects sustained policy intervention combining crop residue management subsidies, alternative utilization pathways including biomass pellet production, and agricultural extension services educating farmers about environmental impacts. The success in reducing stubble burning, while requiring continued vigilance, demonstrates that comprehensive policy frameworks can address traditionally intractable pollution sources, offering hope that similarly aggressive approaches to other emission categories could eventually reduce the frequency and severity of GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi.

Public Health Implications and Future Outlook

• Severe air quality episodes with AQI above 400 affect healthy individuals and seriously impact those with existing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, according to CPCB health impact classifications
• The recurrence of conditions necessitating GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi highlights the need for permanent structural solutions beyond emergency response frameworks

The health consequences driving GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi extend across all population segments, with the Central Pollution Control Board categorizing severe air quality as affecting healthy people while seriously impacting individuals with existing diseases. Prolonged exposure to PM2.5 concentrations at levels recorded during severe episodes increases risks of respiratory illness, cardiovascular events, reduced lung function in children, and exacerbation of conditions like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart disease. The World Health Organization’s updated guidelines emphasize that no safe threshold exists for particulate matter exposure, with health impacts occurring even at low concentrations, making the massive exceedances requiring GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi particularly concerning from a public health perspective.

The emergency nature of GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi reflects a reactive rather than proactive approach to air quality management, with restrictions imposed only after pollution reaches hazardous levels. Environmental experts advocate for strengthening permanent emission controls across all sectors, including accelerated vehicle fleet modernization, mandatory pollution control equipment in industrial facilities, complete mechanization of road sweeping, and expansion of green cover to increase natural air filtration. The Commission for Air Quality Management has initiated several long-term measures including Direction No. 89 for liquidating end-of-life vehicles from Delhi-NCR and Direction No. 88 restricting entry of transport vehicles below BS-VI emission standards, policies designed to reduce baseline pollution levels and potentially decrease the frequency of GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi in future years.

Meteorological factors play a crucial role in determining when GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi become necessary, with winter months consistently problematic due to atmospheric conditions that trap pollutants near ground level. The India Meteorological Department’s Air Quality Early Warning System provides forecasts enabling preemptive action, though the fundamental challenge remains reducing emissions at their source rather than managing crises after they develop. The Delhi government’s expansion of public transportation, including electric buses and metro network extensions, represents structural interventions that could gradually reduce vehicular emissions contributing to severe pollution episodes.

Looking forward, the effectiveness of GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi will depend on rigorous enforcement complemented by continued progress on year-round emission reduction strategies. The success in reducing stubble burning demonstrates that targeted policies with adequate resources and enforcement mechanisms can address specific pollution sources. Replicating this approach across construction dust control, industrial emissions, vehicular pollution, and waste burning could potentially reduce baseline pollution levels sufficiently that severe episodes become rare rather than seasonal occurrences. Citizens can contribute by following advisories to minimize outdoor exposure during severe pollution days, using air purifiers indoors, and adopting sustainable transportation choices that collectively reduce emission burdens.

Closing Assessment

The implementation of GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi on November 11, 2025, marks a critical intervention responding to the season’s first severe air quality episode, with comprehensive restrictions across construction, transportation, and industrial sectors aimed at preventing further deterioration. While year-long data showing improved average AQI and reduced stubble burning incidents indicate progress on multiple fronts, the recurrence of conditions necessitating emergency measures underscores the incomplete nature of Delhi-NCR’s air quality transformation. The capital’s pollution crisis requires sustained commitment to structural solutions including fleet modernization, industrial emission controls, construction dust management, and agricultural residue alternatives that address root causes rather than symptoms.

The GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi will remain in effect until meteorological conditions improve and sustained AQI reduction allows the Commission for Air Quality Management to revoke Stage-III restrictions, with continuous monitoring determining the timeline for transition back to lower GRAP stages. As millions of Delhi-NCR residents navigate these emergency measures, the broader imperative emerges clearly: building an air quality management framework that makes severe pollution episodes exceptional rather than predictable, protecting public health through proactive prevention rather than reactive crisis management.