Delhi’s air quality stayed in the ‘very poor’ category on Sunday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 324 today, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Earlier in the day, the city had touched a season high of 388 at 10 am, and although winds improved the situation slightly by afternoon, pollution levels remained alarming.
Officials warn that the city could see its first ‘severe’ air day of 2025 this week.
The Centre’s Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) predicted that Delhi’s air will stay ‘very poor’ till Monday, turn ‘severe’ on Tuesday, and then return to ‘very poor’ on Wednesday. A “severe” AQI means the air quality index rises above 400, posing serious health risks, especially for children, the elderly, and those with breathing problems.
Most polluted period of the year
Experts say Delhi has entered its most polluted season. Studies by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and IIT-Delhi show that the first half of November usually records the worst air quality of the year, followed by another spike in late December. At 4 pm Sunday, out of 39 active air monitoring stations, five recorded ‘severe’ air quality:
- Burari (404)
- Chandni Chowk (404)
- RK Puram (401)
- Vivek Vihar (402)
- Wazirpur (418)
The remaining 30 stations reported ‘very poor’ readings, the CPCB said. Even though a western disturbance will affect the region on November 4–5, no rain is expected, meaning pollution levels are likely to stay high. Rain usually helps clean the air by washing away pollutants.
According to the Decision Support System (DSS), stubble burning contributed only 3.5% to Delhi’s PM2.5 levels on Sunday, dropping from 9% on Saturday. The biggest pollution source remains Delhi’s transport sector (18.13%), followed by Jhajjar (11.2%) and residential sources (4.5%). About 36.8% of pollution comes from outside Delhi and unaccounted sources.
AQI fluctuations over the week
Delhi’s AQI has been unstable over the past few days:
- 373 on Oct 30
- 218 on Oct 31
- 303 on Nov 1
- 366 on Nov 2
