After over 3 months, rain lifts Delhi air to 'Moderate'

After more than three months of persistent pollution, Delhi finally caught a brief breather as its air quality improved to the ‘moderate’ category, aided by rainfall and strong surface winds that helped disperse accumulated pollutants.The city’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 192 as the weekend began, marking the first ‘moderate’ air quality day in 103 days. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed a sharp improvement from Friday, when the 24-hour AQI was recorded at 282, placing it in the ‘poor’ category.
According to an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), the last time Delhi experienced ‘moderate’ air quality was on October 13, 2025, when the AQI stood at 189. Between October 1 and October 13, the capital had witnessed nine days of ‘moderate’ conditions before pollution levels deteriorated sharply.From October 14 onwards, the city entered a prolonged phase of unhealthy air. CREA data shows that during this period, Delhi recorded 26 days with ‘poor’ air quality, 66 days in the ‘very poor’ category, and 10 days classified as ‘severe’.The improvement on Saturday followed a spell of rainfall a day earlier, which marked a three-year high for single-day January rainfall. Fast winds on Saturday further helped clean the air, leading to a dramatic drop in pollution levels through the day.
CPCB’s daily bulletin showed that the AQI stood at 192 at 4 pm on Saturday, improving by nearly 100 points from the previous day. The air quality continued to get better as the day progressed, with AQI readings of 184 at 5 pm, 165 at 8 pm and 163 by 10 pm.Under CPCB standards, an AQI between 101 and 200 is categorised as ‘moderate’, while 201–300 is considered ‘poor’, 301–400 ‘very poor’, and readings above 400 fall under the ‘severe’ category.However, the relief is expected to be short-lived. Forecasts issued by the Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) for Delhi indicate a likely deterioration in air quality in the coming days.“The air quality is likely to be in the ‘poor’ category on Sunday and is expected to worsen to ‘very poor’ on Monday. It is likely to return to the ‘poor’ category on Tuesday,” the AQEWS bulletin said on Saturday evening. The outlook for the subsequent six days suggests that air quality will remain in the ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ range.