Page 3 - Delhi Air Quality

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

Cloudy skies in Delhi as AQI turns 'poor'; rainfall likely in most states

Delhi's air quality deteriorated to the poor category amid hot and humid weather, while an active monsoon pattern is set to bring heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and gusty winds to several states

Delhi notifies winter anti-pollution plan with year-round PUC checks

Delhi has notified a permanent winter pollution plan, mandating year-round PUC checks, hybrid work norms, construction curbs and anti-smog measures from November to February

Delhi-NCR truck scrappage plan: Can replacing old vehicles clean air?

Experts say targeting old trucks and buses could cut transport emissions significantly, but broader action on dust, industry and other pollution sources will remain crucial

Grap-1 restrictions imposed across Delhi-NCR as air quality turns 'poor'

CAQM has imposed Stage 1 restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) across Delhi-NCR after the region's air quality slipped into the "poor" category

CAQM holds off on Grap curbs despite Delhi AQI slipping to poor category

The Commission for Air Quality Management on Friday decided against invoking GRAP restrictions in Delhi-NCR at the moment despite the air quality slipping into the poor category, officials said. According to the AQI bulletin by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's daily average AQI breached the 200 mark on Thursday and was recorded at 266 (poor category). "The Commission for Air Quality Management sub-committee on GRAP called a meeting to review the current air quality scenario in the region, as well as the forecast for meteorological conditions and AQI made available by IMD and IITM," a senior official said. "The panel, while reviewing the current air quality scenario of Delhi-NCR and forecast for weather and meteorological conditions, noted that Delhi's AQI, which was recorded 194 yesterday, has sharply deteriorated to 266 at 4 pm today, owing to the dust storm in the early morning," the official added. The commission noted that the weather or AQI forecast also ...

Delhi records lowest PM2.5, PM10 levels since 2015, excluding Covid year

Delhi recorded the lowest yearly average of particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 in 2025, barring the Covid year i.e. 2020, according to the economic survey of 2025-26 tabled in the Delhi Assembly by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday. The report, which quotes Delhi Pollution Control Committee's (DPCC) Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) data, the yearly average of PM10 in 2025 was 209 (measured in micrograms per cubic metre) and that of PM2.5 was 100. This was the lowest since 2015, before which data is not available. In 2020, which was the year of the global Covid pandemic, PM10 yearly average had dropped to 187 but PM2.5 remained at 101, one unit higher than 2025. According to the DPCC data provided, the yearly average of PM10 and PM2.5 in 2024 were 225 and 110 respectively, in 2023 were 219 and 106. The PM10 and PM2.5 yearly average were 223 and 103 in 2022, and were 221 and 113 in 2021, respectively. The report quoted that the year-wise annual mean ambien