Delhi Air Quality

87% people in Delhi-NCR want other pollution sources tackled first: Survey

Delhi will bar non-BS-VI petrol and diesel vehicles registered outside the capital from Nov 1 to Jan 31, 2027, affecting vehicles from Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad

Delhi wakes to 'poor' air as AQI hits 228, two stations cross 300

Vivek Vihar records the highest AQI at 316, followed by Jahangirpuri at 305; Noida and Greater Noida also report elevated pollution levels

Delhi wakes to hazy morning, AQI stays in 'moderate' category at 167

Delhi's AQI stood at 167 at 7 am on Tuesday, up from 164 on Monday morning, with PM2.5 and PM10 identified as the prominent pollutants, according to CPCB data

Delhi AQI improves slightly to 164, pollution from fine particles persists

PM2.5 and PM10 remained the dominant pollutants, though readings varied across monitoring stations

Delhi records best AQI for Oct 24 in 10 years excluding Covid period: Govt

Delhi recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 191 on Saturday, the lowest for October 24 in a decade, excluding the Covid period, the Delhi government said, attributing the improvement to sustained pollution control measures. According to a statement issued by the Environment Department, the AQI stood at 306 on October 24 in 2024 and 275 on the corresponding date in 2025, before declining to 191 this year. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the improvement reflected the government's efforts to tackle pollution through enforcement, monitoring and public participation. An AQI of 191 falls in the 'moderate' category. The government said nearly 9,883 vehicle challans were issued in the last 24 hours as part of its anti-pollution drive. During the same period, 2,810 km of roads were mechanically swept and 1,075 km covered through water sprinkling to control dust. Authorities also removed 12,702 metric tonnes of waste, lifted 2,223 metric tonnes of construction and demolitio

Delhi weather today: AQI improves to 'moderate', temperature set to rise

Delhi's AQI improved to 185 on Saturday morning, entering the moderate category, while the IMD forecast partly cloudy skies; heavy rain is likely in parts of southern India

Delhi AQI improves slightly to 223; poor air quality likely through Sunday

Delhi witnessed its first 'poor' air quality day of the season on Wednesday, earlier this week. According to weather agencies, the poor air quality is likely to persist until October 25

Best of Opinion: Will El Niño's delayed fallout show up in H2FY27?

Today's editorials and columns examine SBI's cybersecurity concerns, Delhi's pollution response, El Niño's impact on economic growth, EU steel regulations and India's electric vehicle transition.

Delhi wakes up to poor AQI at 226, Grap-I restrictions in force across NCR

While the national capital's overall AQI stood at 226 at 7 am on Thursday, some areas of Delhi recorded very poor air quality

Grap Stage 1 invoked across Delhi-NCR as AQI enters 'poor' category

Grap Stage 1 measures include mechanised road sweeping, water sprinkling to control dust, regular waste collection and action against open waste burning

Delhi's air quality slips to poor category, forecast to worsen further

Delhi's AQI reached 219 at 7 am on Wednesday, with forecasts indicating poor air quality over the coming days

Govt plans to roll out BS-VII emission norms in 3 phases from April 2029

The proposed BS-VII norms aim to cut emissions across pollutants by 20-50 per cent, with stricter limits on vehicle emissions under real-world driving conditions

Delhi logs lowest September average AQI in 5 years as air quality improves

Delhi's monthly average AQI stood at 102 in September, while January-September saw 194 days with an AQI below 200, the highest number in the past five years

SC rules out total Diwali cracker ban, to set hours after CPCB report

Supreme Court says it will balance religious and cultural sentiments with pollution concerns, and consider permitted hours for firecracker use after receiving CPCB's report

Delhi pollution curbs: Parking fees to double, 50% staff to work from home

The measures form part of the consolidated Winter Pollution Action Plan notified in July. The plan will come into force every year from November 1 to February 28.

Delhi govt to launch PUC enforcement drive from Oct 1: Rekha Gupta

The Delhi government will launch an enforcement drive against vehicles with invalid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates from October 1, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Saturday. Gupta, who inaugurated an Automated Testing Station (ATS) in Burari, said the government was taking several steps to reduce air pollution in the national capital. "We want to ensure that every person in Delhi gets clean air to breathe. This enforcement will be done to check whether the Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates are valid. Delhi government is working round the year to reduce air pollution; this is one step towards that," she said. The chief minister said the system of PUC centres in Delhi would also be made more effective and reliable. "The enforcement system related to valid Pollution Under Control certificates will be implemented in Delhi from October 1. At the same time, work will also be undertaken to strengthen the monitoring and functioning of PUC centres through technology,"

No physical sports in Delhi-NCR in Nov-Dec? Here's what CAQM said

The CAQM has advised schools in Delhi NCR not to schedule physical sports activities or competitions in November and December, citing air quality trends during the period

Delhi's August: Above-normal rain, warm nights, and three-year high AQI

From rain-soaked days to warm nights, August has unfolded differently for Delhi this year: Rainfall has already crossed the seasonal average, day and night-time temperatures remain high, and the month's average air quality index has reached a three-year high. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi has received 653.9 mm of rainfall at Safdarjung since the beginning of the monsoon season, compared with the long-period average of 506.7 mm, resulting in a surplus of 147.2 mm, or 29 per cent. The capital also recorded its wettest first week of August in 15 years, receiving 127 mm of rainfall during the first seven days of the month, the highest for the period since 2011. The month witnessed one of its heaviest single-day rainfall spells on August 25, when Safdarjung recorded 99.1 mm of rain in 24 hours, the highest rainfall for an August day in two years, the IMD said. The last time Safdarjung recorded more rainfall in August was on August 1, 2024, when the station

Ban on construction in Delhi from Dec 10 to Jan 20 to curb air pollution

Construction activities will be completely banned in Delhi from December 10 to January 20 as part of the government's measures to curb air pollution during the winter season, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Friday. In a post on X, Gupta urged citizens to report violations, saying construction sites measuring above 500 square metres would be monitored through the Delhi government's Dust Portal and AI-enabled cameras. "Construction will be completely banned from 10 December to 20 January. If you spot any violation, inform MCD, your MLA, or me directly," she said. Gupta said that during the previous winter, construction activities had continued at some sites despite the implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), with work being carried out behind covers. "Last time, even under GRAP, some construction continued behind covers," she said. This year, such sites will be monitored in real time through the Dust Portal and AI-enabled cameras, with alerts being sent to the .

Yellow alert in Delhi as IMD forecasts light rain today; humidity persists

Minimum temperature eases to 30.2 degrees Celsius, but hot and humid conditions remain as IMD forecasts light rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds in Delhi; heavy rainfall likely across several states