India’s largest cities are fast becoming symbols of urban distress, where toxic air, broken roads, traffic gridlock and overflowing garbage dominate daily life. This decline comes despite unprecedented government spending on highways, airports and metro systems, raising uncomfortable questions about how India governs its cities. From Jaipur’s fading heritage to…
Tag: #DelhiSmog
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Messi’s India Tour Ends in Smog-Hit Delhi AQI Crisis
Football legend Lionel Messi arrived in New Delhi on December 15 for the final leg of the GOAT India Tour 2025, but the celebratory mood was tempered by a grim environmental reality. The national capital was engulfed in dense toxic smog, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) remaining well above…
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Stage-III GRAP Enforced in Delhi-NCR as AQI Worsens
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Saturday invoked Stage-III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across the entire Delhi-NCR with immediate effect after Delhi’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) surged to 401, entering the ‘Severe’ category. The decision follows a sharp deterioration in air quality driven primarily…
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Delhi Chokes: GRAP-III as AQI Turns Severe
Delhi woke up to another hazardous morning on Saturday as air pollution levels worsened sharply, pushing the Air Quality Index (AQI) into the ‘severe’ category. In response, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) enforced Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across the National Capital Region (NCR)…
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Delhi air quality 2040: Lockdown-level curbs can meet NAAQS
New Delhi, Dec 1, 2025: A working paper from Urban Emissions finds Delhi could achieve the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (annual PM2.5 = 40 µg/m³) by 2040 if emission reductions comparable to those observed during the COVID-19 lockdown are sustained across sectors but implementation delays will sharply increase health…
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Delhi Cloud Seeding Fails as Low Moisture Blocks Smog Plan
New Delhi, 29 October 2025: Delhi’s first cloud seeding experiment in over five decades failed to produce rain on Tuesday as moisture levels remained critically low. The trial, led by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and the Delhi government, was part of an ambitious attempt to reduce the…
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Delhi Begins Cloud-Seeding Trials to Tackle Smog
The national capital is attempting an innovative measure to battle its persistent winter smog. On Tuesday, the New Delhi government carried out the city’s first full-scale cloud-seeding trial in coordination with the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT Kanpur). A specially equipped aircraft released salt-based and silver-iodide flares into moisture-laden…
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Delhi’s Air Turns ‘Severe’ on Diwali, GRAP-II Curbs Imposed
New Delhi: The capital woke up to a choking morning on Diwali 2025 as air quality plummeted into the ‘severe’ category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index (AQI) around India Gate reached 347 — indicating hazardous pollution levels. GRAP-II Restrictions Enforced In response to…