After a brief period of clear sky, and better air quality index levels (AQI), Delhi is again engulfed with thick layer of smog. Delhiites on Monday morning woke up with the AQI of 418, under the 'severe' category. As per the data released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the AQI in the ITO area was recorded 434, Rafi Marg at 417, and areas around Swaminarayan Akshardham temple at 455. All under 'severe' category.

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• Anand Vihar stood at 462
• Ashok Vihar stood at 473
• Bawana stood at 448
• Burari stood at 460
• Chandni Chowk stood at 454
• Dwarka Sector 8 stood at 427
• Mundka stood at 467
• Narela stood at 437
• Punjabi Bagh stood at 434
• RK Puram stood at 439
• Rohini stood at 437
• Wazirpur stood at 472

GRAP IV Reimposed In Delhi

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) imposed Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Saturday evening after AQI crossed the 400 mark for the first time in 2026. GRAP-IV is the strictest of all measures, and bans construction activities, along with restrictions on vehicle movement.

What Is Allowed And What Is Not

Under GRAP-IV, all petrol, diesel and CNG stations in Delhi will supply fuel to only vehicles with valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC).

Vehicles identified through ANPR cameras or other methods and found refuelled without PUCC will be facing penalties.

Verification of the physical certificates or electronic certificates would be done through systems like VAHAN.

Note: These rules do not apply on emergency vehicles on sovereign duty like ambulances, fire tenders and police vehicles. Vehicles carrying essential goods or providing essential services will be exempted too, notified by authorities.

Any vehicle registered outside Delhi and not compliant with BS-VI norms will not be allowed to operate in the city. CNG and electric vehicles, public transport, and vehicles carrying essential goods are exempted.

Trucks or any other carriers that transport construction materials like sand, stones, bricks, cement, ready-mix concrete, debris and similar items, will not be allowed to enter Delhi.

Are Schools Closed Under GRAP-IV?

Under GRAP-IV, physical classes are suspended, and based on previous precedents, educational institutions were directed to shift to online or hybrid learning mode. GRAP-IV restrictions have been reimposed across Delhi and NCR residents, including Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar.

Also Read: Delhi Isn't Just Breathing Toxic Air, But Also A Superbug That Resists Antibiotics

Delhi's Air Pollution Continues To Worsen

Delhi is not just breathing toxic air, but also a superbug through its air, which was found in a latest research conducted by the researchers are Jawaharlal Nehru University, published in Nature - Scientific Reports. Apart from the heavy particulate matter or the PM2.5, which are small enough to penetrate through one's bloodstream and cause blockage, Delhi's air also contains airborne bacteria, including staphylococci. The bacteria levels exceed the safety limit by 16-fold as provided by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Will Delhi Use Smog-Eating Surfaces To Deal With Pollution?

The government is pursuing "smog eating" surfaces to deal with the pollution problem in Delhi. While it may sound like a strange thing in India, not to the world. In fact, in the Netherlands these were used to reduce local nitrogen oxide or the NO concentrations in the air, rather than greenhouse gas concentrations.

Smog usually contains a mixture of hydrocarbons, ozone, oxides of nitrogen and sulphur, and particulates. The pollution is caused by both photochemical reactions that involve sunlight, unburned hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, along with high concentrations of particulate matter, especially from vehicle exhaust, construction dust and biomass burning.

Read: Explained: What Are Smog-Eating Surface And How Is Delhi Using It To Beat Air Pollution

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa announced "smog eating" surface as part of its pollution control plan, for which the government has also signed an MoU with IIT Madras.

The smog eating surfaces will be public surfaces coated with photocatalytic materials like titanium dioxide or TiO2 that is used to degrade pollutants.

Smog contains mainly nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter. When all of these interact with photocatalytic materials, gaseous pollutants convert into less harmful compounds, such as nitrogen oxides become nitrates or decompose into ions. This process is also known as pollutant mineralization.

Finger-prick test for Alzheimer's could actually change its diagnosis. An international research trial is exploring if a simple finger-prick blood test could one day help diagnose Alzheimer's disease much earlier and more easily than current methods. The study has involved 1,000 volunteers aged over 60 from the UK, the UK, and Canada, and aims to detect biological markers in the blood linked to the condition.

If the test is successful, it could shift the Alzheimer's diagnosis. The test has the potential to make the diagnosis cheaper, which may not require expensive scans and invasive procedures.

Why Is This Finger-Prick Alzheimer's Test So Important?

Alzheimer's disease does not begin when memory problems become obvious. Research also shows that abnormal proteins linked to the disease, particularly amyloid and tau, can start building up in the brain more than a decade before symptoms appear.

By the time cognitive changes become noticeable, these damage may already occur. This is why such a test is important to ensure that the condition is diagnosed early. New treatments work best in early stages, which makes it more so important.

How Does The Finger-Prick Test Work?

The trial is examining three specific proteins in the blood that have been strongly associated with Alzheimer’s disease. By measuring their levels and concentration, researchers hope to identify whether someone may be at risk, even before symptoms develop.

All volunteers are also undergoing existing gold-standard tests. These include specialized brain scans using radioactive tracers or lumbar punctures to collect cerebrospinal fluid. These methods are accurate but costly, time-consuming, and invasive. As a result, only a small fraction of patients currently receive them.

One of the biggest advantages of the finger-prick test is that it is simple. Unlike traditional blood tests, this test does not require needles, hospital visits or refrigeration. In the future, it could potentially be done at home, with samples mailed to a laboratory for analysis.

Experts say this could dramatically shorten the time it takes to receive an accurate diagnosis. Many families currently wait months or even years, often navigating multiple appointments before getting clear answers.

Participants have also chosen to take a part due to their personal experience with dementia in the families. For them, the possibility of early screening and new treatment is a way to avoid worsening the condition. Participants who have received negative results describe relief, while also recognizing that individual outcomes are just one part of a much larger study. Researchers will only know how effective the test truly is once data from all participants has been analyzed.

What Happens Next?

So far, 883 volunteers have enrolled, with more than 360 completing every test required. The group includes cognitively healthy individuals, people with mild impairment, and those in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. At least a quarter of participants come from under-represented communities. The trial is also expected to run until 2028.

Jesy Nelson, former Little Mix singer, 34, and her fiancé, Zion Foster welcomed their twins, Ocean Jade and Story Monroe Nelson-Foster were devastated when the doctors broke the news that "they are probably never going to be able to walk, they probably will never regain their neck strength, so they will be disabled". Both the twins were diagnosed with SMA-1, a rare disease, known as the spinal muscular atrophy type 1.

Zion, 27, shared a poem for his eight-month-old warrior little girls. The Sun reported, he said: "They said it’s unlikely you’ll walk, you may not be able to talk, probably won’t be able to hold your head up, that’s what me and Jesy heard – SMA Type 1.

And it became so clear, doctors only go near what they can measure, so what’s certain?

I watch your smiles like sunsets, not promised, but real. I listen to you babble the sweetest melodies, in the moment it makes me wonder, if I keep telling you who I want you to be, what I want you to do, what I expect from you, am I loving you, or am I loving my fear?

If I take you for how God knitted you, just as you are, nothing removed, am I loving you? Am I accepting you?

Story, is your heart okay? Ocean, how’s your mind? I hear strength in your lungs every time you cry, two little warrior girls who already know how to fight.

Honestly, my worry isn’t the milestones, isn’t forcing life to live a different way. My worry is quieter than that, deeper. It’s about accepting you, loving you for who you are right now, without conditions.

No matter what tomorrow brings, and no matter what yesterday was."

What Treatment Jesy Nelson's Daughter Are Undergoing?

Jesy said, "They have had their treatment, thank God. A one-off infusion. That puts the gene back in their body that they don't have. It stops the muscles still working from dying. Any that have gone you can't regain them back."

While she does not reveal the name of the treatment, it is a single dose gene treatment, where patients receive an intravenous adeno-associated virus stereotype 9 carrying SMN complementary DNA encoding the missing SMN protein, as mentions a 2017 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, or the Zolgensma, a prescribed gene therapy used to treat children less than 2 years old with SMA.

“Now it’s down to constant physio. We’ve been told they’ll probably never walk or regain their neck strength. They’ll probably be in wheelchairs.”

Also Read: Former Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson's Twin Babies Have SMA-1; Signs She Is Asking Other Parents To Look Out For

Jesy Nelson Twins: What Is SMA-1?

SMA-1. a rare disease, known as the spinal muscular atrophy type 1 or the Werdnig-Hoffmann disease is when the muscle weakness appears at birth or within the first six months. This rare condition prevents infants from sitting unassisted and causing severe breathing, swallowing, and sucking difficulties, leading to a poor prognosis without aggressive support. This condition has impacted the twin babies of the former Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson. Her twin babies may never be able to walk. However, she said that her babies will "fight all the odds" after they were being diagnosed with such a rare genetic condition.

Nelson said that there could be some common signs to look out for, which includes floppiness, inability to hold yourself up without support, a "frog-like" positioning of the legs without much movement, and rapid breathing in the tummy.

"If anyone is watching this video and they think they see these signs in their child, then please, please take your child to the doctor, to the hospital, because time is of the essence, and your child will need treatment. And the quicker you get this, the better their life will be," she added.

Flu cases are starting to fall, yet experts caution that the United States still faces risks. In the week ending January 10, fifteen more children died from the flu, bringing the total pediatric deaths this season to 32, as per NBC News.

Flu Season: Latest CDC Data

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported an 18% drop in confirmed flu cases compared with the previous week. Visits to doctors for respiratory illnesses decreased by more than 5%, and hospitalization rates fell by nearly 55%. Influenza-related deaths, however, rose by 2%.

So far this flu season, the CDC estimates that 18 million people have been infected, including 230,000 hospitalizations and 9,300 deaths.

“It seems like there is some cautious good news that cases are declining,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health. “But I’m going to put a giant asterisk on this because that does not mean the worst is behind us.”

Last year, flu cases dipped around this time before climbing again in early February.

Flu Season: State-by-State Variation

CDC data reflect a national trend, but not all states have necessarily reached their peak. “We are not going to all experience this at the same time,” said Beth Carlton, a public health professor at the University of Colorado, as per NBC News. “Nationwide, the trend is downward, but different states and communities may see spikes as the virus spreads.”

Flu often appears first in densely populated areas like New York City before moving to rural regions, but the virus can behave unpredictably.

Flu Season: Impact on Schools

Although flu cases may be falling overall, other winter illnesses such as norovirus, Covid, and strep throat are still causing school closures in states including Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

High flu activity continues in Idaho, New Mexico, New York, and parts of Appalachia, while Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming report lower case numbers.

“The number of people hospitalized for influenza around New Year’s was extremely high—the second highest in the past decade, with last year being the highest,” Carlton said.

Flu Season: A Difficult Flu Season

This year’s severe flu season is driven by a heavily mutated strain of influenza A called H3N2 subclade K. Its mutations make it less similar to the strain used in this year’s vaccine. Influenza-like illnesses, including RSV and Covid, are also unusually high, Nuzzo said.

“Typically these viruses peak at different times, but this year they are peaking together, making the season particularly harsh,” she noted.

While there were concerns that the vaccine would be less effective against subclade K, recent research shows the current flu shot still offers protection, particularly against hospitalization. The vaccine covers three strains: H1N1, H3N2, and one B strain.

Flu Season: Pediatric Risk

As per NBC News, last year marked the deadliest flu season for children since the CDC began tracking pediatric deaths, with 289 children dying—more than during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

“That double peak last season clearly had consequences,” Nuzzo said. “Any decline this season is welcome, but we can’t assume the worst is over.”

Among children eligible for the flu shot whose vaccination status was known, 90% of pediatric deaths occurred in unvaccinated kids.

Following recent CDC guidance, flu shots are no longer recommended for all children, a change from the previous advice that everyone six months and older should be vaccinated annually.