NEW DELHI: Delhi recorded an Air Quality Index of 299, in the Poor category, in the Central Pollution Control Board's bulletin for 4 pm IST on 10 November 2026. Gurugram was at 323 and Noida at 301, both Very Poor. For readers checking GRAP Stage III after Diwali, the verified invocation is CAQM's order of 6 November, which applied across NCR with immediate effect. A lower AQI reading does not itself establish that the order has been withdrawn.
| City | AQI | Category | Stations reporting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 299 | Poor | 58 of 59 |
| Gurugram | 323 | Very Poor | 4 of 4 |
| Noida | 301 | Very Poor | 7 of 7 |
| Ghaziabad | 244 | Poor | 8 of 8 |
| Faridabad | 290 | Poor | 3 of 3 |
| Greater Noida | 233 | Poor | 4 of 5 |
Delhi AQI after Diwali: what the 4 pm bulletin measures
The official CPCB bulletin for 10 November labels its figures as an average of the past 24 hours. They are dated city readings, rather than a forecast for the night or a measurement of conditions at every street corner. Someone comparing the bulletin with a morning screenshot should first check whether both refer to the same time and geographic area.
Delhi's row lists PM10 and PM2.5 as prominent pollutants. Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Greater Noida list PM2.5. Those entries identify pollutants in the bulletin; they do not apportion pollution between fireworks, dust, burning or other sources. The fact that this bulletin follows Diwali is therefore not a numerical estimate of how much the festival contributed.
The participating station column also matters. Delhi's figure uses 58 participating stations out of 59, while Greater Noida has four out of five. Gurugram and Noida have all their listed stations participating. The bulletin makes these differences visible. A city average should be read alongside that reporting coverage, rather than presented as though every monitoring station necessarily returned a reading.
The regional picture is mixed even within this small group. Gurugram and Noida carry the bulletin's Very Poor label, while the other four cities in the table carry Poor. There is no single Delhi NCR number in this comparison. Using Delhi's 299 to describe Gurugram, or Noida's 301 to describe Ghaziabad, would replace the official city entries with a different claim.
GRAP Stage III status: what CAQM has actually ordered
The 6 November CAQM order invoked Stage III actions across Delhi NCR in addition to Stage I and Stage II actions already in force. It referred to the revised GRAP schedule dated 29 September 2026. This is the operative invocation document verified for this report, rather than a restriction inferred from the latest city AQI.
CAQM's accompanying release recorded Delhi's daily average AQI at 382 on 6 November, in the Very Poor category. It said the committee had considered forecasts of deterioration and invoked Stage III to prevent conditions worsening. That explains why readers should not expect the stage number to be a simple restatement of the category printed beside a later observation.
The Commission's public document search, checked on 10 November, listed the 6 November Stage III invocation and the 2 November Stage II invocation. No subsequent November revocation appeared in that search. This is a bounded check of the official records retrieved, not a guarantee that no later instruction can be issued. Readers making decisions about a restriction should consult the latest CAQM order and the responsible local authority's implementing notice.
Schools, work and the citizen charter
In its 6 November citizen advisory, CAQM asks residents to follow hybrid arrangements for primary schools and work from home when instructed. The qualification matters: the release should not be converted into an announcement that every school is closed or that every employer has adopted the same attendance rule. Families should check their school's instructions.
The same advisory asks residents to combine short journeys, reduce trips and postpone private gatherings that increase traffic and outdoor exposure. It also tells residents not to use coal or wood for heating. These are the Commission's published requests. They can be reported without inventing a new local closure, an enforcement deadline or a weather forecast absent from the documents.
For earlier context, read the desk's reports on Delhi's 1 November city AQI and Delhi's 7 November station readings. Readers planning festival activities can also consult the Chhath festival calendar. Those dated reports provide background; the pollution figures in this report come from the new 10 November bulletin.
To repeat the check, open CPCB's bulletin archive, select 10 November 2026 and read the city row with the timestamp and station count. Then check CAQM's orders separately for an invocation or revocation. Keeping the measurement and the administrative order together gives readers both the pollution reading and the evidence needed to understand the verified Stage III position.
