A thick layer of smog is seen in New Delhi on November 28, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

New Delhi:

With an average Air Quality Index of 294, Delhi has recorded its cleanest December air since the introduction of the AQI system in 2015.

This improvement can be attributed to strong, consistent winds in the first half of the month and record-breaking rainfall in the second, officials said.

According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), December marked Delhi’s cleanest first half ever, with only one ‘very poor’ air day recorded between December 1 and December 15.

On Monday, the AQI stood at 173, in the “moderate” category, a significant improvement from Sunday’s 225 (poor). This marked the eighth moderate air quality day this month, with the capital previously recording no more than three moderate days in December.

The lowest AQI of this month was recorded on December 28, at 139, marking the cleanest December day on record.

The average AQI during this period stood at 238, significantly lower than the usual AQI of over 300 for this time of year.

In comparison, Delhi’s average AQI was 348 last December, 319 in 2022, and 336 in 2021. The previous lowest December AQI was 300, recorded in 2015.

Additionally, the month is set to conclude with at leats 53.5 mm of rainfall, making it the fifth-wettest December since 1901. The city also recorded its highest single-day December rainfall in 101 years, with 41.2 mm on December 28 (Friday).

This year, Delhi experienced six rainy days in December, compared to just one in 2023, none in 2022, four in 2021, and a single rainy day in December 2020.

In total, Delhi recorded 53.5 mm of rainfall this month, with 41.2 mm occurring in a single day. In contrast, December 2023 and 2022 saw no rainfall, while 2021 recorded 9.6 mm, and 2020 recorded 1.6 mm.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the highest-ever single-day rainfall in December was 75.7 mm, recorded on December 3, 1923.

While the nights were pleasant, with an average minimum temperature of 8.4 degree celsius, consistent with the long-period average (LPA) for December, the days were slightly warmer, with an average maximum temperature of 23.1 degree celsius — 0.3 notches above the LPA.

This marks the coldest December since 2021, when the average maximum temperature was 22.4 degree celsius, according to IMD officials.

Experts attributed the favourable air quality in December to the favourable dispersion of pollutants, particularly in the first two weeks of the month.

However, the third week saw a slowdown in winds, causing six severe air quality days between December 17 and 23. This was due to a western disturbance that brought added moisture, which led to stagnation in the air.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, explained that winds in early December helped disperse pollutants effectively, preventing dense fog, and maintaining relatively clean air.

On Monday, Delhis AQI stood at 173, in the “moderate” category, a significant improvement from Sunday’s 225 (poor).

This marked the eighth moderate air quality day this month, with the capital previously recording no more than three moderate days in December.

The lowest AQI of the month was recorded on December 28, at 139, marking the cleanest December day on record.

The highest AQI recorded in December was 451, which occurred on December 19.

The CPCB categorises AQI as follows: 0-50 (Good), 51-100 (Satisfactory), 101-200 (Moderate), 201-300 (Poor), 301-400 (Very Poor), and above 400 (Severe).

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

As Delhi gets respite from toxic air with improved air quality due to continuous rains, Centre’s panel on Delhi-NCR’s air quality on Friday lifted stringent pollution curbs under stage 3 of GRAP in the national capital and surrounding areas with immediate effect. However, pollution restrictions under stage 2 of GRAP are in place in the national capital region. 

Delhi’s air pollution levels showed a declining trend and the 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 324 at 7 pm on Friday.

According to forecasts from the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, the air quality situation is predicted to improve further owing to favourable meteorological conditions.

The Commission for Air Quality Management, responsible for strategizing air pollution mitigation in Delhi-NCR, said curbs prescribed under stage 1 and 2 will remain in force in the region.

So, what does it mean? 

Under stage 2 of GRAP, measures such as mechanised sweeping of roads, use of anti-smog guns, and sprinkling water daily will be taken to tackle dust with focused attention on identified air pollution hotspots. 

Power suppliers need to ensure uninterrupted supply so that the use of diesel generator sets can be minimised. 

Alerts will be issued through newspapers, television, and radio to advise people about air pollution levels.

Further, to ensure that the air quality index in Delhi NCR doesn’t slip into ‘very poor’ or ‘severe’ category again, people are advised to use public transport and ditch personal vehicles whenever possible. 

People are also requested to take a less congested route to their destination even if it is slightly longer along with regularly replacing air filters in their automobiles at recommended intervals. 

What’s not allowed

Ban on the use of coal and firewood will still be in place in Delhi NCR, including the use of tandoors at restaurants and hotels. 

Use of diesel generators sets will also not be allowed except for emergency and essential services under GRAP 2.

 All construction and demolition sites and industrial units which have specific closure orders against them are also not allowed to resume operations.

New Delhi:

Delhi’s air quality deteriorated on Sunday with the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching the ‘severe’ category at 409 at 4 pm, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.

On Saturday, the AQI was recorded at 370, placing it in the ‘very poor’ category.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.

The capital on Sunday experienced dangerously high levels of PM2.5, the primary pollutant, with 37 out of 39 monitoring stations reporting air quality in the ‘severe plus’ category.

Some areas recorded AQI levels as high as 474.

PM2.5 particles, which are 2.5 micrometres or smaller in diameter, can penetrate deep into the lungs, posing significant health risks.

Delhi remains under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which includes stringent anti-pollution measures such as a complete ban on construction activities and restrictions on non-essential polluting trucks entering the city.

Meanwhile, the weather office has forecast cloudy sky with light rain on Monday, with temperatures expected to range from a high of 20 degrees Celcius to a low of 7 degrees Celcius.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A thick blanket of smog is hovering over two metropolitan cities, Delhi and Mumbai, as the air quality dipped amid cold wave conditions. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital stood at 386 in the ‘very poor’ category for the second consecutive day on Sunday morning, while in Mumbai, it was 176 in the ‘moderate’ category.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, 401 and 450 severe, and above 450 severe-plus.

Delhi air quality

Delhi has been yet again witnessing deteriorating air quality this week, forcing authorities to re-impose the fourth and last stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). Under this, all schools are shifted online and a ban is imposed on Delhi-registered BS-IV or older diesel medium and heavy goods vehicles. All the construction activities in the national capital are also halted.

On Monday, Delhi’s AQI breached the 400 mark and dipped into the ‘severe plus’ category. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the smoggy conditions may persist for a few more days as the cold wave in the national capital is intensifying.

The AQI on Saturday stood at 370 in the ‘very poor’ category, with the visibility dropping in the national capital. The Delhi Airport also issued an advisory for passengers saying, “Low visibility procedures are in progress at Delhi Airport. All flight operations are presently normal. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information.”

Update issued at 07:20 hours.
Kind attention to all flyers!#Fog#FogAlert#DelhiAirportpic.twitter.com/0AWazsi9y8

— Delhi Airport (@DelhiAirport) December 21, 2024

Mumbai air quality 

Mumbai has been witnessing its coldest winters in decades, pushing its air quality down. For the fourth consecutive day, the city was shrouded in a blanket of smog with the overall AQI touching 176. Earlier this week, the AQI also touched 199 in the ‘poor’ category.

Several citizens posted videos and pictures on social media showing the worsening air quality in Mumbai.

What’s with Mumbai. Pollution or fog. It was the same yesterday..#mumbaiweatherpic.twitter.com/mYzwdquGou

— Manda Bendre (@mabend2) December 21, 2024

Some visuals also showed the Bandra-Worli Sea Link vanished due to the smog.

New Delhi:

The air quality in the national capital was in the ‘severe’ category on Tuesday morning with an AQI of 427 while the minimum temperature was 5.9 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal.

Out of 35 monitoring stations, 28 recorded air quality in the ‘severe’ category while some breached the 450 mark, classified as ‘severe plus.’ The remaining seven stations recorded air quality in the ‘very poor’ category, according to the Sameer app, which provides hourly data from the Central Pollution Control Board.

An AQI of 400 or higher is deemed “severe” and it can have an adverse effect on both healthy individuals and people with medical conditions.

The weather department said, “Mainly calm winds prevailed over Delhi during the past 24 hours, bringing down visibility from 800 meters in shallow fog at Palam on Monday to 350 meters in moderate fog at Safdarjung on Tuesday morning.” It added that moderate fog conditions (visibility between 200m and 500m) are likely to persist in Delhi over the next two days due to the expected prevalence of calm or easterly surface winds.

Humidity was 97 per cent at 8:30 am.

The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to settle at 24 degrees Celsius and 5 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The Centre’s air quality panel for Delhi-NCR on Monday imposed the strictest Stage 4 curbs under the winter air pollution control plan, including a ban on all construction activities, as the region’s air quality deteriorated to ‘severe’ due to unfavourable weather conditions.

Stage 4 curbs under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for winters also include a ban on the entry of polluting trucks carrying non-essential goods into Delhi and mandatory shifting of school classes, except those for X and XII, to hybrid mode.

The decision to impose Stage 4 curbs came just hours after the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) implemented restrictive measures under GRAP Stage 3, following Delhi’s AQI breaching the 350 mark in the afternoon.

During winters, Delhi enforces restrictions under GRAP, which categorises air quality into four stages — Stage I (Poor, AQI 201-300), Stage II (Very Poor, AQI 301-400), Stage III (Severe, AQI 401-450), and Stage IV (Severe Plus, AQI above 450). 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Delhi’s air quality deteriorated further during the day, breaching the 400 mark, and dipping into the ‘Severe+’ category, forcing the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the Centre’s anti-pollution panel, to impose GRAP 4 restrictions in the national capital and its adjoining areas from tonight.

This comes hours after CAQM imposed GRAP 3 during the day when the air quality was hovering over 300. During the day, the panel said measures in stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) have been implemented following “highly unfavourable meteorological conditions, including calm winds and very low mixing height”. Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index, which was 379 at 4 pm, which breached the 400 mark around 10 pm.

Later in the evening, the panel said, “Considering the steep rise in the AQI of Delhi owing to highly unfavourable meteorological conditions and absolute calm wind conditions, the CAQM Sub-Committee on GRAP called for an emergency meeting.”

“The Sub-Committee decided to impose Stage-IV (‘Severe+’ Air Quality) of the  GRAP schedule (issued on 13.12.2024) in the entire NCR, with immediate effect,” they added.

Meanwhile, schools in Noida will start from 9 am tomorrow due to severe cold and air pollution, operating in a hybrid mode.

What’s Allowed And What’s Not

• Stop entry of truck traffic into Delhi. Ban on construction and demolition activities for linear public projects such as highways, roads, flyovers, overbridges, power transmission, pipelines, telecommunication etc.
• The government can discontinue physical classes, including Classes Vl – lX and Class Xl.
• The government is to decide on allowing public, municipal and private offices to work on 50% strength and the rest to work from home.
• State governments may consider additional emergency measures like the closure of colleges/educational institutions and closure of non-emergency commercial activities, permitting the running of vehicles on the odd-even basis of registration numbers etc.
• Children, the elderly and those with respiratory, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, or other chronic diseases to avoid outdoor activities and stay indoors.
• Ban on all construction and demolition activities, including public projects such as highways and flyovers

Last month the air quality in Delhi and the surrounding areas was consistently in the ‘severe’ and ‘very poor’ category, prompting annual health warnings from medical professionals and triggering a rush of cases before the Supreme Court asking for directions to the government.

Over the past several weeks a top court bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih have held several hearings on the annual air quality crisis, looking at issues from farm fires (i.e., farmers burning agricultural waste) to ineffective bans on polluting vehicles.

In some cases, the court criticised the authorities for not following the law; for example, when GRAP-IV was in effect, the court slammed officials continuing to allow non-essential construction activities that are not permitted at that time. The court also had questions for the Delhi government for not stopping vehicles carrying non-essential goods from entering the city.

The court also questioned the Delhi government and the CAQM, a central government panel, for not ordering stricter anti-pollution measures once the AQI had crossed the 300-mark.

New Delhi:

Delhi recorded the highest number of ‘good’ to ‘moderate’ air quality days in 2024 since the past six years, data shared by monitoring agencies said.

According to the data, a total of 207 days saw ‘good’ to ‘moderate’ air quality, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) remaining below 200. The month of December recorded six ‘moderate’ air quality days so far – surpassing the previous records since 2018. The data showed that so far, December witnessed a total of eight ‘poor’ to ‘severe’ air quality days.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, 401 and 450 severe, and above 450 severe-plus.

“I do feel a difference in the air…Last few weeks I’ve been cycling here but the visibility was very poor. Today, it is fairly clear,” a resident told NDTV.

Delhi’s AQI touched the ‘severe plus’ category this season post-Diwali, forcing the authorities to impose the fourth and last stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). Under this, all schools were shifted online and a ban was imposed on Delhi-registered BS-IV or older diesel medium and heavy goods vehicles. All the construction activities in the national capital were also halted.

On December 5, the Supreme Court allowed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to relax GRAP stage IV restrictions as the air quality improved. Since then, the AQI in the national capital has been reeling between ‘poor’ to ‘moderate’.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, Delhi’s air quality was recorded in the ‘poor’ category today, with the AQI at 246 in the morning. On Saturday, it was measured at 212.

New Delhi:

Delhi’s air quality improved significantly on Wednesday, with the AQI nearing the ‘moderate’ category at 211.

Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 268 in the ‘poor’ category on Tuesday.

At 8 am on Wednesday, the AQI was recorded at 211, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’.

Delhi’s air quality has seen consistent improvement this week. The AQI was 273 on Monday and 285 on Sunday.

On Wednesday, 15 of the 39 monitoring stations in the city recorded ‘moderate’ air quality and the remaining recorded ‘poor’ air quality.

Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 12 degrees Celsius, 2.5 notches above the season’s average, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The humidity level was 68 per cent at 8.30 am.

The weather department has forecast shallow fog during the day. The maximum temperature is expected to settle around 27 degrees Celsius, it said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Chandni Chowk was among the least polluted spots in Delhi on Monday and Tuesday, data provided by pollution monitoring bodies showed, as the overall air quality in the national capital improved to the “poor” category – after a month-long spell of “very poor” and “severe” categories – three days ago.

One of Delhi’s oldest and busiest markets, and a tourist hub, Chandni Chowk recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 186 (moderate) at 8am on Monday, according to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) that set up a monitoring station in the area.

On Tuesday, the AQI oscillated in the 250-270 bracket during the day, under the “poor” category.

Other areas in the city, however, mostly recorded an air quality that remained under the “very poor” category. At 4pm on Tuesday, Shadipur recorded an AQI of 324, Anand Vihar 311 and Mundka 310, according to data provided by the Central Pollution Control Board. Data for other areas for Monday was not immediately available.

Overall, the national capital recorded an AQI of 285 on Sunday, 280 on Monday and 268 on Tuesday – all of which fall under the “poor” category.

Authorities and experts said the primary reason behind the relatively low AQI in Chandni Chowk was the absence of motor vehicles in the area.

In 2021, the Delhi transport department had notified the area, which was then under development, as a non-motorised zone. According to the notification, no motor vehicle shall be allowed to ply on the main Chandni Chowk Road from Red Fort to Fatehpuri Mosque from 9 am to 9 pm on all days. Currently, only cycle rickshaws are permitted in the area. However, the restrictions shall not be applicable in the case of emergencies.

“The restriction on vehicles in Chandni Chowk does help solve the pollution problem. Only vehicles carrying essential goods are permitted. The ban on BS3 and BS4 vehicles (having high emissions) has also helped keep a check on the pollution. But this is a collective effort. Just curbing vehicular movement will not help,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic Headquarters) Satya Vir Katara said.

Dr Sachin Ghude, a scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, which set up the air quality monitoring station in Chandni Chowk, also attributed the improved air quality to the traffic curbs in the area. “I think this is the best example of how you manage the traffic, and if you create a non-motorised zone, you will have an improvement in the AQI,” he said.

A study by the Centre for Science and Environment last month said 51.5% of the pollution in the national capital is caused by transport and vehicular emission.

Dr MP George, a former scientist at Delhi Pollution Control Committee, said: “…Only if there is a consistent downward trend, can it be considered a legitimate improvement in the air quality.”