This article was published in The Wire on December 15, 2025 by The Wire Staff
Singapore, the United Kingdom and Canada have reportedly issued advisories to their nationals regarding the deteriorating air quality in northern India. Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) dipped to severe or severe-plus on Monday, December 15, as the city and its neighbourhood awoke to dense toxic smog.
Singapore has asked its nationals to keep an eye on flight cancellations, which have become widespread due to the toxic smog affecting visibility. The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said that pregnant women, people with heart or respiratory conditions should consult a doctor before travelling to India. It cited pollution in the winter months especially as a “health hazard” in an advisory, the DNA newspaper reported.
The Canadian advisory also asked people to monitor pollution levels “which change quickly”.
The advisories from Canada and the United Kingdom especially highlight the impact of pollution on pregnant women, those with pre-existing conditions, children, the elderly and those with heart-related concerns, DNA reported.
The air in Delhi in the morning was 30 times more polluted than India’s already-relaxed air-quality standards, the BBC reported earlier in the day. It said the average Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi early on Monday was 471, according to the government’s Safar app.
Delhi recorded an AQI of 498 later on Monday, placing it in the higher end of the ‘severe’ category. Of the 40 monitoring stations in the city, air quality was classified as ‘severe’ at 38 stations and ‘very poor’ at two. Jahangirpuri recorded the worst air quality with an AQI of 498, close to the limit of 500—the maximum the government’s monitors can record, the Times of India reported on Monday.
The situation has been deteriorating in Delhi since October, and has sparked protests as well as demands for action by the government. However, there has been little and only occassional relief, while the dips in air quality have become steeper.
Survey finds air crisis worse
Amid the toxic surge and visibility crisis, a new survey by Local Circles has found that 82% of National Capital Region (NCR) residents have one or more people in their close social network suffering from severe health conditions due to exposure to polluted air.
The survey, conducted in December and titled “Killer Toxic Air of Delhi NCR”, said 28% of respondents reported having four or more such individuals among family members, friends, neighbours or colleagues.
The survey received more than 34,000 responses from the residents of Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad regions. It sought a response to the following question:
How many individuals including yourself do/did you have in your social network (family, friend, neighbour, colleague), in Delhi-NCR, who developed a severe health condition like lung cancer, COPD, asthma, lung damage, heart failure, heart stroke, brain stroke, cognitive decline, reproductive or bone issues, etc., and they attribute it to sustained exposure to polluted air?
Only 18% of people surveyed said they did not have someone in such a position.
Around 73% of respondents expressed concern over being able to pay for a health emergency arising out of the toxic smog crisis.
Only 8% of Delhi-NCR residents were considering leaving the place to live elsewhere, while 92% said they had to continue living here.
Earlier findings a warning
A survey conducted by Local Circles in November—at the beginning of the crisis—had also found that 66% of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad residents had no faith in the ability of the government or administration to solve the toxic air problem.
They did not believe authorities could successfully enforce the Graded Response Action Plan or GRAP norms. Seventy-eight per cent also said in the survey that they believe the government is “not concerned” about people having to breathe toxic air.
These findings were also based on interviews with over 53,000 people across the NCR.
The survey found that only 8% of NCR residents had no family member unwell due to the excessive and prolonged exposure to pollution. Fourteen per cent of respondents said they were “unsure” in response to the question:
How many members of your family (including kids) in Delhi NCR have struggled with toxic air/pollution in the last 4 weeks?
Eighty-two per cent had said they had at least one such member, and 36% had said they had four or more family members who had struggled due to pollution exposure. Answers to this question were based on over 18,000 valid responses.
Another 78% of over 18,000 respondents had said they did not belive the administration of their district, city or state was concerned that “you and your family are breathing such toxic air”.
“Studies show strong links between ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5/PM10) and increased rates of mortality, hospital admissions for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and even cardiovascular events. Beyond the lungs, experts now highlight additional harms: elevated prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, anaemia and mental-health issues tied to long-term polluted-air exposure,” Local Circles noted in the November study.
Current situation
Amid advisories by other countries’ governments and cancelled flights, GRAP—IV, the strongest of all anti-pollution norms, has been enforced in Delhi.
This was in response to the situation in the NCR worsening over the last few days. GRAP-III was already in place, limiting certain activities considered polluting and mandating Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates for vehicles.
On December 13, the government enforced GRAP-IV or the strictest ban on polluting activities, including private and commercial vehicles and construction. However, there has been no relief so far for Delhi-NCR residents.
India officially measures AQI levels of 101-200 as “moderate”, 201-300 as “poor”, 301-400 as “very poor” and 400 as “severe”. The limit is at 500. However, the BBC noted that private monitors have shown that the situation is much worse. AQI between 0-50 is “good” and between 51-100 as “satisfactory”.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) tracks the level of pollution and enforces remedial steps as part of the GRAP system.