New Delhi: The Commission for Air Quality Management on Wednesday withdrew the most stringent restrictions under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan across Delhi NCR and neighbouring areas after air quality showed marked improvement, officials said.
Stage IV curbs had been imposed on December 13 after Delhi’s average Air Quality Index deteriorated sharply and crossed the 450 threshold on the same day. Following a review, the CAQM sub committee assessed prevailing air quality conditions along with meteorological forecasts and AQI projections for the region.
“The CAQM Sub-Committee on GRAP today reviewed the current air quality scenario in the region as well as forecasts for meteorological conditions and AQI. It noted that the AQI of Delhi has shown significant improvement since yesterday night owing to favourable meteorological conditions, including high wind speed, and stood at 271 (‘Poor’ category),” an official said.
Forecasts by the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology suggest that the city’s average AQI is likely to fluctuate between the ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ categories over the coming days. “Keeping in view the disruptive nature of restrictions under Stage-IV of the extant GRAP impacting a large number of stakeholders and public as well as the improvement in the average AQI of Delhi, the panel decided to revoke all actions under Stage-IV of the extant schedule of GRAP in the entire NCR with immediate effect,” the official added.
Despite the rollback of Stage IV measures, actions prescribed under Stages III, II and I of the current GRAP schedule issued in November 2025 will continue to remain operational. Authorities across the NCR have been directed to implement, monitor and periodically review these steps to prevent a renewed rise in pollution levels.
The Commission also clarified that construction and demolition sites or other units facing closure orders due to violations or non-compliance with statutory rules and guidelines will not be permitted to resume operations without explicit clearance from the CAQM.
“While GRAP Stage-IV is being revoked, keeping in view the winter season when weather conditions may not always be favourable and in order to ensure that the AQI levels do not slip further, citizens are requested to strictly adhere to the citizen charter under Stages III, II and I of the extant schedule of GRAP,” the official said.
At least 16 flights were cancelled and scores of flights were delayed at the Delhi airport due to fog and low visibility conditions on Wednesday.