Air quality across New Delhi, India, deteriorated sharply between October 19 and 21, 2025, reaching “very poor” and “severe” levels at multiple monitoring stations. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the 24-hour average AQI rose from 296 on October 19 to 345–346 on October 20–21, prompting Stage II measures of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across the National Capital Region.
New Delhi reached an air quality index (AQI) of 495 at 10:54 LT (05:24 UTC) on Friday, November 22, 2024, the highest recorded so far this season. Earlier this week, Delhi’s AQI reached 493, placing it among the most polluted cities globally on November 18, 2024. PM 2.5 levels hit 401.1 µg/m3 exceeding the safe limits of the World Health Organisation (WHO) over 27 times.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) of 373 in R.K. Puram, Delhi, shows high pollution levels as of 14:35 LT (09:05 UTC) on Saturday, November 16, 2024. The levels of PM2.5 and PM10 are 318 and 258 indicating serious health risks placing Delhi as the second most polluted city in the world, following Lahore, Pakistan. Other pollutants like ozone (AQI 51), nitrogen dioxide (AQI 13), sulfur dioxide (AQI 1), and carbon monoxide (AQI 8) were also measured but are at lower levels.
