Overview
- Delhi’s 24-hour AQI hit 366 on Sunday and hovered around 316–324 on Monday, with several hotspots breaching 400 and NCR cities such as Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Noida recording very poor air.
- The Air Quality Early Warning System projects a move into the severe category on Tuesday before a likely return to very poor on Wednesday.
- The Supreme Court sought reports from the CAQM and CPCB after submissions that only 9 of 37 monitoring stations functioned on Diwali, raising concerns about when to trigger GRAP.
- Authorities have rolled out GRAP controls alongside vehicle restrictions and dust suppression, and health guidance urges vulnerable groups to limit exposure and use masks.
- Punjab’s capital Lahore shifted school start times to no earlier than 8:45 am from 3 November through 31 January 2026 to reduce morning exposure and traffic emissions during the smog spell.