Response Action Plan – As Delhi’s air quality reached the “severe” category on Saturday (December 13, 2025) morning, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas has implemented Phase 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), a set of emergency measures to control air pollution. Read this also As AQI in Delhi approaches ‘severe’ level, “The CAQM GRAP Sub-Committee has today called for implementing all actions envisaged under Phase-III of the existing GRAP – ‘Severe’ air quality (DELHI AQI between 401-450) with immediate effect across the entire NCR. This is in addition to the actions to be taken under Phases I and II of the existing GRAP already implemented in the NCR.

” Said in an official statement. Phase 3 of GRAP includes a ban on construction and demolition activities across the entire NCR. Read this also GRAP-III restrictions in Delhi: What is allowed and what is banned? Additionally, classes for students up to Class 5 will have to be mandatorily shifted to ‘hybrid mode’ in Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar districts of Delhi and NCR.

This also includes a ban on plying of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel LMVs (four wheelers) in Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar in Delhi and NCR. Earlier in the day, a thick blanket of smog covered the national capital and the air quality index (AQI) stood at 397.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed that out of the total monitoring stations in Delhi, 21 were in the ‘severe’ category, where AQI readings crossed the 400 mark.