Delhi Air Quality update: Delhi’s air quality witnessed a slight improvement on Sunday even as the national capital remained shrouded in a thick layer of toxic smog, with AQI remaining in the ‘very poor’ bracket.
Delhi air quality sees marginal improvement
According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, Delhi logged an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 303 at 9 AM, in the ‘very poor’ category, on Sunday morning. However, despite the marginal improvement in air quality, several parts of the capital city were enveloped in a thick layer of toxic smog amid a chilly winter morning.
Visibility in several areas of Delhi, including Anand Vihar and ITO, was significantly reduced, while AQI levels at key stations, including Ashok Vihar (322), Bawana (352), Burari (318), Chandni Chowk (307), and Dwarka (307), remained in the “very poor” category, as per CPCB data.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 to 500 ‘severe’, as per CPCB standards.
Delhi air quality has swung sharply through the week, with the city logging an AQI of 279 on Sunday, 304 on Monday, rose to 372 on Tuesday, and stood at 342 on Wednesday. The city’s AQI remained in the ‘very poor’ category at 304 on Thursday, 327 on Friday, and 330 on Saturday, according to CPCB data.
Not a single day of ‘severe-plus’ AQI, says govt
Meanwhile, on Friday, the Central government informed the Rajya Sabha that it continues to take measures to address the rampant air pollution issue in Delhi-NCR.
Responding to a query posed by MP Dr. Laxmikant Bajpayee, asking whether it is a fact that “one in every seven deaths in Delhi can be attributed to the city’s toxic air as claimed by several studies and reported in the media”, Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh, informed the House that various studies have been conducted by academic and research institutes on the impact of air pollution.
Singh noted that Delhi has not witnessed a single day of ‘severe-plus’ AQI in 2025, adding that the Union government has established the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to oversee air quality management in Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas.
