Delhi's air quality improves after 24 days as AQI enters poor range

Delhi’s overall air quality improved on Sunday morning, as it dropped to “poor” range at 6:00 AM, with an AQI reading of 270, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. This reading is significantly lower than Saturday's Air Quality Index (AQI) when it stood at 305. This marked improvement in air quality and drop in pollution levels comes after 24 days.

The AQI registered in the morning of 30 November is in stark contrast to the predictions of Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi which suggested that AQI will remain in the 'very poor' zone over the coming week.

Considering the air quality in the previous week, the capital's overall AQI settled at 369 on Friday, 377 on Thursday, 327 on Wednesday, 352 on Tuesday, and 382 on Monday.

Out of 38 monitoring stations in the city, only 5 monitoring stations across Delhi recorded AQI in ‘very poor’ range, namely Dilshad Garden, Jahangirpuri, Nehru Nagar, RK Puram and Shadipur. Mandir Marg was the only station with the best AQI, with ‘moderate’ AQI reading of 157, as per CPCB's Sameer app. This remarkable improvement in AQI can be attributed to favourable wind direction and speed and the winding down of stubble burning in neighbouring regions.

However, Vice President (Meteorology and Climate Change) at Skymet Weather, Mahesh Palawat, said that the air quality is expected to remain in the 'very poor' zone for the next few days. With wind speeds likely to remain on the higher side, the AQI may not slip into the 'severe' category, he further noted.

According to the Decision Support System of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, vehicular emissions contributed 18.7 per cent to Delhi's pollutants on Saturday, PTI reported. As per the Institute's prediction, vehicular emissions are expected to be responsible for around 18.6 per cent of the city's pollution on Sunday.

Five days ago, the Commission for Air Quality rolled back GRAP Stage 3 measures as air quality improved. GRAP 2 measures were invoked across NCR when AQI continued to be in the 'very poor' category.

Delhi weather today

The residents of national capital woke up to shallow fog on Sunday morning. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted partly cloudy sky as the city recorded 12 degrees Celsius temperature on 30 November at 7:00 AM. According to the weather agency, the minimum temperatures are likely to be normal, around 8 to 10 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the maximum temperature is expected to settle in 23 to 25 degrees Celsius range.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday reaffirmed the government's commitment to bring down pollution level across Delhi -NCR. Suggesting that the authorities are regularly monitoring the situation and taking appropriate steps, Rekha Gupta said, "The government is monitoring the situation daily and taking appropriate steps regularly to curb pollution. The steps we take today will give results in the future," ANI reported.

Delhi records coldest November in 5 years

The national capital marked coldest November in five years. As per IMD data, the monthly average minimum temperature dropped to 11.5 degrees Celsius. Notably, the maximum temperatures during the day also remained lower than last year.

In the last four years, the lowest average minimum temperature in November was 11.9 degrees which was recorded in 2021, in 2024 it was 14.7 degrees Celsius, in 2023 it was 12 degrees Celsius and in 2022 it was 12.3 degrees Celsius. With November being completely dry this year, Delhi did not record a single rainy day in this month.