At 279, AQI in Delhi improves to ‘poor’ category after 24 days

After 24 days of ‘very poor’ air, often bordering the ‘severe’ zone, the air quality in Delhi on Sunday improved to the ‘poor’ category with a reading of 279.

The capital city last recorded Air Quality Index (AQI) in the ‘poor’ category on November 5 at 202, after which the readings turned ‘very poor’, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

At 4 pm on Sunday, the 24-hour average AQI was recorded at 279, compared to 305 on Saturday. It stood at 369 on Friday, 377 on Thursday, 327 on Wednesday, 352 on Tuesday, and 382 on Monday.

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According to the Sameer app developed by the CPCB, no monitoring station in Delhi recorded ‘severe’ air quality on Sunday, similar to Saturday. In contrast, eight stations were in the ‘severe’ category on Friday.

The CPCB classifies an AQI between 0 and 50 as ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 as ‘severe’.

The average AQI for November was 357 — in the ‘very poor’ range but lower than the previous two years, 374 in 2024, and 366 in 2023.

The city did not record a single ‘good’, ‘satisfactory’, or ‘moderate’ air quality day in November. There were three ‘poor’ AQI days, 24 ‘very poor’ days, and three ‘severe’ days, according to the CPCB.

The air quality is expected to remain in the same range over the next few days. With wind speeds likely to remain on the higher side, the AQI is not expected to slip into the ‘severe’ category for at least the next two days, Mahesh Palawat, Vice-President (meteorology and climate change) at Skymet Weather, said.

The Decision Support System of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, estimated that vehicular emissions contributed 18.6 per cent to Delhi’s pollution on Sunday, which is projected to be around 18.1 per cent on Monday.