Delhi air cleanest in eight years, October AQI at 166

CNN Central News & Networks / ITDC India ePress / ITDC News /Agencies/ Delhi: Delhi air cleanest in eight years, October AQI at 166

New Delhi. The national capital Delhi recorded a notable improvement in air quality during October 2026. According to data from the Union Environment Ministry, Delhi’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) this month was 166, the lowest monthly average for October in the past eight years. Earlier, the average AQI was recorded at 223 in October 2025, 234 in 2024 and 219 in 2023.

According to the ministry, Delhi’s average AQI between January and October 2026 was 167. During this period, the capital had 220 days when the daily average AQI was below 200, or in the good to moderate category. In 2025, the number of such days was 200, while in 2024 it was 201. Meanwhile, the number of days in the poor to severe category during January to October was 84, lower than the 104 days recorded in 2025 and 2024.

Rainfall in the final days of October also played a role in improving air quality. On October 30, Delhi’s AQI dropped to 60, which falls in the satisfactory category. The Safdarjung weather station recorded 61.4 millimetres of rain that day. Because of the rain, some pollutant particles present in the atmosphere settled down, providing temporary relief.

However, according to experts, the full credit for the improvement in air quality cannot be given only to pollution-control measures. Weather conditions such as rainfall, wind speed and direction also affect the AQI. In addition, because Diwali is in November this year, the impact of firecracker emissions on October’s figures was also different compared with the past few years.

The data does indicate relief, but the risk of pollution rising in winter due to stubble burning, vehicle emissions, construction activity and industrial emissions remains. In such a situation, continuous and effective control measures will be needed for clean air in Delhi-NCR.

Hashtags: #DelhiState #Delhi #Air #October #AQI #EightYears #Cleanest #DelhiAirCleanestIn #OctoberAQIAt166 #दिल्ली