Why was GRAP Stage 2 imposed in Delhi on 2 November 2026?

The Commission for Air Quality Management invoked Stage 2 with immediate effect after Delhi's AQI reached 324 at 4 pm, in the very poor category. CAQM cited a rise from 117 on 31 October to 261 on 1 November and then to 324, with unfavourable weather likely to keep air in the very poor band.

What are the GRAP stages by AQI?

Stage 1 is Poor (AQI 201-300). Stage 2 is Very Poor (301-400). Stage 3 is Severe (401-450). Stage 4 is Severe Plus (above 450). Delhi's 4 pm reading of 324 sits in Stage 2.

Can pre-BS-VI vehicles from outside Delhi enter the city?

No, until 31 January 2027. A Delhi government notification bars vehicles registered outside Delhi that do not meet BS-VI norms from 1 November to 31 January. Electric, CNG and BS-VI vehicles are exempt. The Delhi High Court on 2 November refused to stay the ban and listed the challenge for 27 November.

Are schools closed under GRAP Stage 2?

The Stage 2 measures reported on 2 November do not close schools. School closures are associated with tighter stages, which CAQM has not invoked on this order. Delhi's citywide AQI was 324, which is very poor, not severe.

Can people still burst green crackers if GRAP Stage 2 is on?

The Supreme Court has allowed only certified green crackers on 7 and 8 November, between 6 am and 7 am and between 8 pm and 10 pm. Separately, CAQM's citizen advice under GRAP asks residents to refrain from bursting firecrackers. The court order sets the legal window. The pollution agency is asking people not to use it while the air is already very poor.

How do I report a pollution violation in Delhi?

CAQM has asked people to report violations through the 311 app, the Green Delhi app and the SAMEER app, Hindustan Times reported.

GRAP Stage 2 in Delhi-NCR: AQI at 324, Curbs, Vehicle Rules and What to Do, Explained

Delhi's winter smog has arrived. On Monday, 2 November 2026, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked Stage 2 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across the entire NCR, with immediate effect.

The trigger was the city's air. Delhi's Air Quality Index was 324 at 4 pm, in the "very poor" band, Hindustan Times reported. The Indian Express and The Economic Times, citing the CAQM order, said the commission tracked a rise from 117 on 31 October to 261 on 1 November, and then to 324 on Monday, in "unfavourable weather".

The 60-second version

Stage: GRAP Stage 2 (Very Poor, AQI 301-400) is in force across Delhi-NCR, along with Stage 1 measures.
Reading: Delhi AQI 324 at 4 pm on 2 November. It was 307 at 7:05 am.
On the roads: Stricter PUC checks, action against visibly polluting vehicles, and higher parking fees. Outstation pre-BS-VI petrol and diesel vehicles are already barred until 31 January 2027.
At eateries: Hotels, restaurants and roadside stalls are to drop coal and firewood tandoors and switch to gas or electricity.
Generators: Diesel generator use stays restricted, with room for emergency and essential services.
Not invoked: Stage 3 (Severe, 401-450) and Stage 4 (above 450).
Court: The Delhi High Court refused to stay the outstation vehicle ban. Next hearing: 27 November.

How fast the air worsened

Hindustan Times traced the swing:

When	Delhi AQI	Category
Friday, 30 October	60	Satisfactory, after rain. The cleanest October day in four years, HT reported
Saturday, 31 October	117	Moderate
Sunday, 1 November	261	Poor
Monday, 2 November, 7:05 am	307	Very poor
Monday, 2 November, 4 pm	324	Very poor. This is the reading CAQM acted on

Of 59 monitoring stations, data was available for 58. 36 were in very poor. Jahangirpuri was the only station in severe, at 417. Five stations were moderate. The rest were poor, HT reported.

CAQM said it had reviewed forecasts from the IMD and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, and that unfavourable weather was likely to hold the air in the very poor category over the coming days. Stage 1 and Stage 2 actions are to be implemented together so the index does not slip further.

Meteorologist Navdeep Dahiya wrote on X that many sensors were climbing through 400-500 on Monday night, with a calm north-westerly flow that lets emissions linger, and that he did not expect a helpful weather break for seven to ten days. That is his reading, reported by Hindustan Times. It is not the IMD bulletin.

What Stage 2 asks agencies to do

Hindustan Times, reporting the measures now in force, listed this set:

Dust: mechanical sweeping of roads, water sprinkling and anti-smog guns. Proper collection of garbage and construction waste. Action against open burning.
Traffic: police at busy junctions, tougher checks for a valid pollution under control (PUC) certificate, and action against visibly polluting vehicles. Rules on older diesel and petrol vehicles are to be enforced strictly.
Industry: tighter inspections of industries, brick kilns and power plants, including checks that they use approved fuels.
Kitchens: hotels, restaurants and roadside eateries are not to run coal or firewood tandoors. They are to switch to electricity or gas.
Power: supply is to stay uninterrupted so homes and shops lean less on diesel generators. Generator use stays regulated, except for specified emergency services. Livemint's explainer says regular and commercial generator use is not allowed, with exemptions for essential services such as hospitals, healthcare facilities and lifts.
Buses and trains: more frequent Metro, RRTS, CNG and electric bus services. Offices are encouraged to run shared transport.

The Indian Express added that parking fees will be increased under Stage 2.

Livemint places the four GRAP bands at 201-300 (Stage 1, Poor), 301-400 (Stage 2, Very Poor), 401-450 (Stage 3, Severe) and above 450 (Stage 4, Severe Plus). Monday's order stops at Stage 2.

The winter plan that was already on

Stage 2 sits on top of Delhi's Winter Action Plan, which started on 1 November and is not the same document as Monday's GRAP order.

From reporting by Hindustan Times, Livemint, CNBC-TV18 and Business Standard:

Outstation vehicles below BS-VI cannot enter Delhi from 1 November to 31 January 2027. Electric vehicles, CNG vehicles and BS-VI vehicles are exempt. The rule comes from a 23 June 2026 notification of the Delhi environment department. The petition challenging it says the bar covers vehicles registered outside Delhi, and that a comparable older vehicle registered in Delhi is not barred the same way.
Fuel pumps have been told not to supply fuel to vehicles without a valid PUC certificate, Hindustan Times reported.
Parking charges at authorised lots are doubled until 28 February 2027, Livemint reported.
Offices, government and private, are to keep physical attendance at 50 percent from 1 November to 31 January, with the rest working from home. Essential and emergency services are exempt.
Dust-generating demolition and outdoor civil construction are prohibited, with exceptions for specified essential public projects. A tighter construction stop, again with exemptions, runs from 10 December to 20 January, Livemint reported.

Border checks were already snarling traffic on Monday at the Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad, Sonipat and Najafgarh entries, Business Standard reported.

What the High Court did

On Monday a bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma refused interim relief against the entry ban. The case is listed for 27 November, with a related petition.

The challenge was filed by Faridabad lawyer Gurmukh Dass Kohli, who told the court he owns a BS-IV petrol vehicle registered in Haryana. His plea, as reported by The Economic Times and Business Standard, argues that the restriction sorts vehicles by place of registration rather than by what they emit, and that it runs for three months regardless of the day's AQI. Those are the petitioner's arguments. The court has not ruled on them. It has only declined to pause the ban while the case is heard.

What residents are being asked to do

CAQM's citizen advice, as Hindustan Times reported it:

Use public transport or carpool.
Keep the vehicle maintained and carry a valid PUC.
Switch off the engine at signals.
Do not burn garbage. Limit diesel generators.
Refrain from bursting firecrackers.
Report violations on the 311, Green Delhi and SAMEER apps.

People with breathing trouble are being advised to avoid the outdoors when pollution is at its worst, especially early morning and at night, and to keep medicines regular, Livemint reported.

One clash is worth stating plainly. The Supreme Court has allowed certified green crackers on 7 and 8 November, only from 6 am to 7 am and 8 pm to 10 pm, with a 300-metre no-cracker zone around hospitals, schools, old-age homes and silence zones. The full ban returns on 9 November. CAQM, under the GRAP citizen charter, is asking people not to burst crackers at all while the air is very poor. The court order is the legal window. The pollution body's advice is to leave that window unused.

What to watch next

Whether Stage 3 is invoked. That step comes if the city's AQI moves into 401-450. One station, Jahangirpuri, was already at 417.
The 27 November hearing on the outstation vehicle ban.
Diwali night, 8 November. Green crackers are legally allowed in two short windows. The AQI on 9 November will show what the city actually did.
The 31 January and 28 February end dates for the vehicle bar, the office-attendance cap and the doubled parking fees.

Delhi has crossed into the band that brings Stage 2, with a separate winter rulebook already restricting who can drive in. The next number that changes daily life is whether 324 drifts toward 401.

This explainer is based on CAQM's 2 November 2026 order as reported by The Indian Express and The Economic Times, on Hindustan Times' account of the Stage 2 measures and station readings, on Livemint's GRAP band definitions and its report of the winter plan, and on Hindustan Times, Business Standard, CNBC-TV18 and The Economic Times on the vehicle ban and the Delhi High Court hearing. AQI figures move through the day. Check the CPCB bulletin for the latest reading.