NEW DELHI: The capital has recorded its worst air quality in 287 days on Tuesday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) climbing to 350, and 10 monitoring stations reporting severe pollution levels. Delhi last recorded a higher AQI on January 20 this year settling at 378.
Of the 57 air quality monitoring stations in the city, 10 recorded severe air quality, 35 were in the very poor category and 12 reported poor air quality. Jahangirpuri recorded the highest pollution level, with an AQI of 462, placing it in the severe category.
PM2.5 was the dominant pollutant in the index. These fine particulate matter particles, measuring 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter, can penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream, posing significant health risks.
The Air Quality Early Warning System has forecast that air quality is likely to remain in the very poor category till November 6, with the outlook for the next six days indicating conditions could persist in the very poor to severe range. The city was brought under Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Monday after the AQI deteriorated to 324, marking the first day of very poor air quality this season.
Meanwhile, the contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s PM2.5 pollution is expected to increase over the next three days. According to the Decision Support System (DSS) for air quality management under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the contribution of farm fires is forecast to rise from 8.5% on November 2 to 15.3% on November 3, 20% on November 4 and 22.2% on November 5. The forecast is based on climatological data on fire counts and emissions.
Satellites detected 219 paddy residue-burning incidents across the monitored states on November 2. These included 98 in Punjab, 67 in Rajasthan, 48 in Madhya Pradesh, four in Uttar Pradesh and two in Haryana. No farm-fire incidents were detected in Delhi or Uttarakhand, according to data from ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute.
A total of 3,535 farm-fire incidents were detected across seven states and Delhi between September 15 and November 2. Punjab accounted for the highest number, at 1,612, followed by Rajasthan (738), Madhya Pradesh (614), Uttar Pradesh (349), Uttarakhand (176), Haryana (44) and Delhi (two).
Despite the continued occurrence of farm fires, satellite data indicate a significant decline in cases over the years. Across regions covered by the bulletin, 51,822 incidents were detected during the corresponding period in 2020.
The figure fell to 24,583 in 2021 and 26,490 in 2022 before declining to 18,991 in 2023, 9,668 in 2024 and 4,993 in 2025. The stubble-burning period runs from September 15 to November 30. Delhi recorded its first farm-fire case of the season on September 19 and the second on October 24.
NCRTC adds 20 trips, calls for Public Transport use
NCRTC is introducing 20 extra trips on the Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor starting Wednesday, to encourage people to switch to public transport. These additional trips will operate across the entire corridor between Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi and Modipuram in Meerut. It aims to reduce dependence on private vehicles amid worsening air quality.
