Report · 29 September 2026

109 AQI at Pusa (DPCC), 24 hours to 4 PM, 29 September 2026, Moderate on CPCB's documented formula, and PM10 set that figure. 10.7 lakh people live within 4 km of it. The second monitor at Pusa, Pusa (IITM), read 114.

107

TODAY, WEATHER REMOVED

This is Delhi in the usual weather for the season, on the model's 45 stations, which measured 76.

41.7 lakh

NEAR MODERATE OR WORSE

Within 4 km of 4 Moderate-or-worse monitors: 19.9 per cent of Delhi, every pollutant counted.

1.8x

THE WHO 24-HOUR LINE

Delhi's PM2.5 today, as measured, against the WHO 24-hour guideline.

The AQI figures here are calculated with the formula that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) publishes for its air quality index. CPCB's own documents set out that formula: CPCB's note on how the AQI is calculated; CPCB's AQI calculator.

The full report

The complete written report for this day, with every figure and the source it comes from.

Download the daily reportPDF, 3.9 MB

The day in brief

Today, 29 September 2026, 24 hours to 4 PM: the observed number looks better than last year, but the weather flag is up: with the weather removed, today is 0.3 points worse, on the model's count. The improvement is the weather's, not the Government's. Delhi's AQI was 74.3, Satisfactory, calculated with CPCB's documented formula as the mean of 45 stations' AQIs (CPCB's note "How is AQI calculated?" and its AQI Calculator; page 34 sets out the formula). The highest reading anywhere in Delhi today was 114 at Pusa (IITM), and ozone set that figure. The figure at the head of this page is lower, because this record does not anchor its headline on Pusa (IITM), whose nitrogen oxide readings fail this record's consistency check; the count below includes every pollutant. 4 of 45 monitors read Moderate or worse on CPCB's documented formula, and 41.7 lakh people, 19.9 per cent of Delhi, live within 4 km of one.

The year so far, 1 January to 29 September: the cleaner days of 2026 have been the dirtiest for these dates since 2019, because three days in four read above 105.8 on the particle AQI, against 89.8 on the same dates of 2025.

The findings

What the report says

The verdict, both rulers

On the weather model's own count of 38 matched stations, the observed year reads -45.9 points; with the weather removed it reads +0.3 on the model's count; the stations are too mixed to call. 1 of 3 pollutants, PM10, show no real improvement.

Against yesterday: the one-day move

From 59 to 73. On the 43 stations that reported on both days, the 95 per cent interval runs 9.1 to 18.4 points.

Against last year: the observed reading

Today 74 across 45 stations. The year is judged on the 38 matched stations: 73 today against 124, the mean of the same date ±7 days of 2025 at those stations. The interval runs -57.5 to -43.4 points.

The highest particle reading in the city today

Moderate, set by PM10. Its PM10 averaged 112.5 µg/m³ over the 24 hours to 4 PM, 2.5 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 45 µg/m³. Last year this station read 133 on the mean of the same date ±7 days, so the change is -23.9 points. It is one of the two monitors at Pusa; the second, Pusa (IITM), read 114. 10.7 lakh people live within 4 km of this monitor. The highest reading of the day was 114 at Pusa (IITM), set by ozone. Within 500 m of the monitor, 54% of the land is built up and 46% is under vegetation, so this reading describes a mixed neighbourhood.

The year, from its best days to its worst

On the same 272 complete dates, 1 January to 29 September, the best tenth of days reads 74.0 against 71.9 and the worst tenth 291.5 against 295.6. The days at or below 200 went from 196 to 194.

How much of the city was above AQI 200

That is 11.5 of 43.2 reporting stations, against 26.2 per cent over the same dates last year, a change of +1.4 points on an interval of -3.7 to +6.5, so it is unchanged inside its margin.

Who the monitoring network reaches

Within 4 km live 92 per cent of Delhi's people, within 2 km 45 per cent, and within 500 m only 3.6 per cent. Delhi has 55 monitors in 53 zones, of which 45 reported today, and 30 of the 53 zones stretch past 4 km, the distance that the US EPA's neighbourhood scale treats as the furthest a monitor speaks for.

What each monitor's reading speaks for

That is 19.9 per cent of Delhi, living around the 4 monitors that read Moderate or worse. No monitor read Poor or worse today. The highest reading this record leads on is Pusa (DPCC) at 109, and 10.7 lakh people live within 4 km of it; the higher readings it sets aside are named below.

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