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Delhi's air quality deteriorates again, nears 'very poor' category
01 Dec 2025

Delhi's air quality has deteriorated, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching 298 on Monday.

This comes after a brief improvement when strong winds had pushed the AQI from "very poor" to "poor" for the first time in 16 days.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported that at 7:00am, Delhi's AQI was still in the "poor" category under a blanket of fog and smoke.

Nehru Nagar records highest pollution levels in Delhi
Pollution hotspots

Nehru Nagar in south Delhi recorded the highest pollution levels with an AQI of 351, which falls under the "very poor" category.

Other pollution hotspots include Anand Vihar (323), Bawana (337), Burari Crossing (304), Jahangirpuri (319), Mundka (330), Punjabi Bagh (326), Shadipur (325) and Wazirpur (321).

In the National Capital Region, Noida was the most polluted city on Monday with an AQI of 316.

Delhi records lowest average AQI since 2018
Historical data

Despite the recent spike in pollution levels, Delhi has recorded its lowest January-November average AQI since 2018.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said this year's average was 187, better than previous years except for the COVID-19 lockdown year of 2020.

Notably, only three days this year saw daily average AQIs exceed 400 (severe category).

PM2.5 and PM10 levels reach record lows
Particle concentration

The average concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 was also at a record low for the period till November 27 since 2018, barring 2020.

The average PM2.5 level was 85 micrograms per cubic meter, while that of PM10 was 183 micrograms per cubic meter this year.

These figures are better than those recorded in previous years from 2019 to 2024, according to CAQM data.

Delhi experiences coldest November in 5 years
Weather update

On the weather front, Delhi experienced its coldest November in five years with a monthly average minimum temperature of 11.5 degrees Celsius.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that Delhi's minimum and maximum temperatures settled at 8.3 degrees Celsius and 24.3 degrees Celsius, respectively, on Monday.

The IMD has forecast similar weather conditions for Tuesday, with maximum and minimum temperatures hovering around 24 degrees Celsius and eight degrees Celsius, respectively.