Delhi air quality hits ‘severe’ levels; Government plans new pollution study

Overall air quality on Sunday (December 29, 2025) and many parts of Delhi witnesses ‘severe’ level air pollution, as per official data. 

Meanwhile, Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was 390 (very poor) at 4 p.m. on Sunday (December 28, 2025), up from 385 (very poor) a day earlier, as per the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily official bulletin, which is considered as a day’s official AQI. A higher AQI means an increase in air pollution. 

By 7 p.m., the 24-hour average AQI had become 397 and 20 of the 39 stations were in the ‘severe’ levels, including Anand Vihar, Rohini, Bawana, and Punjabi Bagh. Air pollution of ‘severe’ level “affects healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases”, as per the CPCB. 

The overall air quality is expected to remain at ‘very poor’ for the next few days. “The air quality is likely to be in the Very Poor category from 29.12.2025 to 31.12.2025. The outlook for the subsequent 6 Days: The air quality is likely to be in the Very Poor category to Severe category,” said the Central government’s ‘Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi’.  

An AQI between 51 and 100 is “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 is termed as “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 450 “severe”, and 451 – 500 “severe plus”, as per the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM).

Every winter, air pollution spikes in Delhi-NCR and many parts of the larger Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP), mainly due to meteorological factors such as lower wind speed and a drop in temperature. And pollution from stubble burning during October-November and bursting of firecrackers worsens it.

With the overall air pollution of Delhi inching closer to the ‘severe’ category on Sunday (December 29, 2025), Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that the government has taken a series of measures to tackle air pollution, including 7,023 challans issued for vehicular pollution.

“In the last 24 hours 250 small and 92 large construction and demolition sites were inspected, 1,694 km of roads sprinkled, and 41 congestion points decongested in a single day,” the Minister said. “Delhi will fight pollution with science, evidence and accountability every effort must show measurable impact on city’s air and a visible change can be felt,” he added.

The Minister’s office also said the government is exploring a collaboration with IIT Kanpur to identify pollution sources at a granular level, assess their impact, and enable targeted, timely interventions across sectors. The emphasis is on building systems that can monitor, analyse, forecast and guide action on a continuous basis.