Delhi-NCR’s air quality remains in ‘very poor’ category, AQI at 384 in several areas; Check area-wise pollution levels

A thick layer of smoke shrouded the national capital Delhi on Friday morning as winter approaches. According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the city’s air quality remains in the ‘Very Poor’ category with an AQI of 384 at 8 am.

The city had recorded an AQI of 377 at 4 pm on November 27. Despite slight deterioration, the city’s air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category.

‘Severe’ AQI was recorded in many areas of the city. According to CPCB, Ashok Nagar recorded AQI of 417 while Bawana reported 413. Other important areas like Chandni Chowk (408), Jahangirpuri (420), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (401) and Burari Crossing (403) also came under the ‘Severe’ category.

Anand Vihar also woke up to a thick layer of smoke with an AQI of 408. But according to city resident Vinod, pollution in Delhi is higher due to volcanic ash from Ethiopia reaching some parts of India.

He also emphasized that the government had taken steps to reduce pollution, such as cloud seeding experiments to trigger artificial rain, but these efforts were unsuccessful.

“There is pollution like every year, but the pollution level is more in the city due to volcanic ash cloud effect…rest is normal…the government took steps like artificial rain, but it was a failure as the chemical fell on a particular area, but it rained on another place, but scientific…sometimes it fails,” Vinod told ANI.

However, many parts of the National Capital are also grappling with very poor AQI in the morning. For example, Mandir Marg recorded an AQI of 320, placing it in the ‘very poor’ category. Similar conditions were experienced in other areas including ITO (393), Najafgarh (365), Sirifort (394) and Sri Aurobindo Marg (354) with air quality remaining in the very poor range. According to AQI categorization, 0-50 is ‘good’, 51-100 is ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 is ‘moderate’, 201-300 is ‘poor’, 301-400 is ‘very poor’ and 401-500 is ‘severe’.

Earlier, in a press release, CAQM announced Phase III of its Phased Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Wednesday as the AQI level increased from the “severe” category to the “very poor” category. It was stated that it decided to lift all restrictions within the scope of the phase with immediate effect. Additionally, CAQM had instructed authorities to intensify actions under GRAP Phase I and Phase II to ensure that pollution levels do not rise again.

“However, actions under Phase-I and II will continue to be implemented and implemented as per the amended GRAP dated 21.11.2025 (copy attached), which will be monitored and reviewed by all relevant agencies across the entire NCR to ensure that AQI levels do not shift further to “Severe/Severe+ Category”. All implementing agencies will strictly maintain and especially intensify the measures under Phase-1 and II of the amended GRAP,” the statement said. The decision also stated that construction sites that were previously closed due to violations cannot continue to operate without obtaining a separate permit from the Commission.

Gradual Response Action Plan (GRAP) is a set of emergency measures that come into effect in Delhi-NCR when air pollution exceeds certain hazard levels. It is designed to gradually reduce air pollution as the Air Quality Index (AQI) worsens.