New Delhi, Nov. 10 -- Delhi's air quality continued to deteriorate on Monday, slipping into the "very poor" category. Residents woke up to another day of smog-blanketed sky, burning eyes, and hazardous breathing conditions.

This situation raises questions about why the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage 3 has not been implemented yet. The action plan is a set of emergency measures to tackle severe air pollution.

Last year, the Supreme Court set an AQI threshold of 350 for the imposition of GRAP Stage 3. However, even though Delhi's AQI reached 391 at 8 AM on Monday, no such measure has been announced yet by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the body responsible for this action.

Currently, Stage 2 of GRAP is in eff...