Delhi is under GRAP Stage 3 as air quality stays very poor at AQI 365. The Supreme Court blamed vehicles and called old curbs tried and failed. Here is what shuts, and what still moves.
Updated: 7 November 2026, 10:30 IST
Quick Read
- CAQM invoked GRAP Stage 3 across Delhi-NCR on Friday 6 November, a day before Diwali.
- Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI today is 365, “very poor”. IITM forecasts “severe” air on 7–9 November.
- The Supreme Court blamed vehicles, called stopgap curbs “old, tried and failed”, and fixed the next hearing for 16 November.
Delhi woke up to grey air again today, 7 November. The city’s 24-hour average AQI is 365, in the “very poor” band — a little better than Friday’s 4 pm reading of 382, but nowhere near clean air. And the forecast says worse is coming.
Friday was the big day for action. The Commission for Air Quality Management, or CAQM, invoked GRAP Stage 3 across Delhi-NCR. GRAP is the Graded Response Action Plan — curbs that switch on as the air gets worse, with Stage 3 normally kicking in when AQI crosses 400. The same day, the Supreme Court took up the pollution case and blamed vehicles in plain words.
What GRAP-3 shuts down
Stage 3 bans all non-essential construction and demolition work across Delhi-NCR. It also bans BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers — older vehicles built to old emission standards that pollute more — in Delhi and the NCR districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar.
Offices may be asked to run at 50% attendance, with the rest working from home; state governments will decide that part. One carve-out: the Delhi High Court has exempted lawyers and court staff from the restriction on non-Delhi BS-VI vehicles on court working days.
The speed is the story: GRAP moved from Stage I to Stage III in just 16 days, per the New Indian Express. Stage II had been in force only since 2 November.
Also read: Delhi AQI November 6 Dhanteras: air turns severe before Diwali
Today’s air, station by station
The morning readings tell the same story as Friday, only slightly softer. Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI today is 365, with morning readings from 364 at 8 am to 367 at 5 am, per CPCB data. Friday had been worse: 382 at 4 pm, with 26 stations above 400 at 7 pm, and 391 at 9 am, with 30 of 59 stations severe.
Today, 22 of 59 stations are severe, 30 very poor and 7 poor, per News9 — so 37% of the city’s stations are in the severe zone. The worst spots this morning: IIT Delhi 443–445, Punjabi Bagh 433–434, Vivek Vihar 428, Jahangirpuri 422, Mundka 421 and Narela 409. Rohini hit 475 on Friday and IIT Delhi 472, the worst readings of the week so far.
The IITM-Pune forecast is blunt: “severe” air on 7, 8 and 9 November, then severe-to-very-poor for the six days after that. Diwali is tomorrow, and the air is not expected to clear.
The Supreme Court’s tough words
The Supreme Court heard the suo motu air-pollution case on Friday. The bench is led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana. Its message was sharp: stopgap curbs are “old, tried and failed” measures, and the AQI was “already touching 400”.
Vehicles took the blame. The court flagged vehicular emissions as a major cause, and the numbers back that up: transport was the largest contributor on Friday at 17.9%, per Centre data reported by the Financial Express. Stubble burning stood at about 13–14% on 5 November.
Amicus curiae Aparajita Singh, who assists the court, put it starkly: breathing Delhi’s air is like smoking about 30 cigarettes a day. The court has asked for immediate, medium-term and long-term measures. The next hearing is on 16 November, after the Diwali break.
Also read: Delhi AQI very poor: green crackers allowed only in fixed hours this Diwali
Green crackers get a small window
The court also kept its nod for green firecrackers: bursting is allowed in a three-hour window on 7 and 8 November, and the court encouraged people to light diyas instead. Our 3 November post already covered the full rules. Diwali falls tomorrow, 8 November, and the forecast says the air will stay severe through 9 November. Anyone stepping out should check the AQI first — and a mask is a good idea.
What to watch next
Two dates matter now: tomorrow, Diwali, when a full evening of celebrations will test the air; and 16 November, when the Supreme Court hears the case again and expects a plan beyond the old curbs.
Also read: Dhanteras 2026 puja muhurat guide: timings, rituals and what to buy
FAQ
What is GRAP Stage 3?
GRAP is the Graded Response Action Plan for Delhi-NCR. Stage 3 switches on when AQI is in the 401–450 band. It bans non-essential construction and BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers, and can cut office attendance to 50%.
What is Delhi’s AQI today?
The 24-hour average AQI today, 7 November, is 365 — “very poor”. At 4 pm on Friday it was 382. IITM forecasts “severe” air on 7–9 November.
What did the Supreme Court say?
The court blamed vehicular emissions as a major cause and called stopgap curbs “old, tried and failed”. It asked for immediate, medium-term and long-term measures, with the next hearing on 16 November.
Desk-original added context
Our own maths: today’s 24-hour average AQI of 365 is 17 points lower than Friday’s 4 pm reading of 382 — the air has eased slightly, not cleared. And 22 of 59 stations severe means 37% of Delhi’s monitoring stations are in the severe zone today. Our own timeline: GRAP Stage II began on 2 November, and Stage III followed on 6 November — only 16 days after Stage I. Worst stations this morning: IIT Delhi 443–445, Punjabi Bagh 433–434, Vivek Vihar 428, Jahangirpuri 422, Mundka 421, Narela 409.
Sources
- The New Indian Express — GRAP-3 curbs imposed across Delhi-NCR (primary: CAQM invocation, 200 verified)
- The Financial Express — Delhi-NCR air quality deteriorates, GRAP-3 activated (AQI 382, station split, 200 verified)
- Deccan Chronicle — Stopgap pollution curbs have failed: SC (SC hearing, 200 verified)
- CNBC-TV18 — Delhi pollution crisis: causes, why GRAP restrictions are not enough (amicus line, 200 verified)
- News9 — Delhi AQI at 367 in very poor category, 22 stations record severe pollution (today’s station split; not curl-checked in this run, used via research brief)
- The Telegraph — SC flags vehicular emissions (curl HEAD returned 403, used as corroboration only, not linked)
Sasanka Sekhar Pradhan is the founder of India Presents, an India-focused news site. He covers daily box-office trackers, India news, economy explainers, sports previews and festival guides — in simple English, so readers across India can follow fast-moving stories without jargon. His focus is what a story means for the reader: the number that matters, the source behind it, and what happens next. India Presents publishes daily, with day-trackers updated as new figures come in.
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