Delhi Improves Briefly, But Pollution Risk Remains as GRAP-4 Curbs Lifted and Western Disturbance Looms

Quick Reads

• Delhi’s highest emergency pollution restrictions (GRAP-4) were lifted after air quality showed temporary improvement. 
• Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa warned weather could worsen soon because of an incoming western disturbance. 
• Residents are asked to stick to pollution-control steps like avoiding unnecessary travel and not burning waste. 
• Despite the lift in GRAP-4, overall air quality in the city remains poor and may decline again. 

Del­hi’s air qual­i­ty gave cit­i­zens a short break this week. The Commission for Air Qual­i­ty Man­age­ment (CAQM) lifted the strict­est emer­gency mea­sures under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-4) after a modest drop in par­tic­u­late pol­lu­tion levels. 

Even so, the city’s air remains in the poor to very poor range, and some areas still record high AQI readings that pose a health risk. 

Minister’s Warning: Weather May Turn

On Friday, December 26, 2025, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa urged Delhi res­i­dents to stay cau­tious. He said a western disturbance is approach­ing, which could bring denser haze, fog and a renewal of poor air con­di­tions in the next few days. 

Sirsa asked people not to ease up on anti-pollution habits. He stressed avoiding unnec­es­sary vehicle use, burning garbage or bonfires, and mak­ing sure vehicles have valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) cer­tifi­cates. 

Where It Happened

The developments are tak­ing place across New Delhi and the National Cap­i­tal Region (NCR). The CAQM’s deci­sion to ease GRAP-4 was based on slightly better Air Qual­i­ty Index (AQI) fig­ures across sev­er­al monitoring sta­tions in the city this week. 

How It Happened

Over the past week, winds helped dispel some trapped pol­lu­tants, bring­ing AQI lev­els down from very poor or severe categories to poor enough for author­i­ties to call off the most string­ent curbs. 

But experts warn that the weather can turn quickly in the winter months. Cool­er tem­per­a­tures, reduced wind speeds and an encroaching western disturbance can trap pollutants near the ground, lead­ing to denser smog and wors­en­ing air qual­i­ty. 

What It Means for Delhi Residents

Even with GRAP-4 lifted, many of the curbs under earlier GRAP stages (I-III) remain in place and are still enforceable. 

People with respiratory illnesses, children and the elderly should be espe­cial­ly care­ful, keep­ing out­door activ­i­ties lim­it­ed when AQI wors­ens. Continued efforts to reduce pol­lu­tion sources — like avoid­ing open burns, car use when not needed, and strict vehi­cle main­te­nance — will help mitigate future spikes.