Report · 08 October 2026

290 AQI at Dwarka-Sector 8, 24 hours to 4 PM, 08 October 2026, the worst monitor in Delhi today, Poor on CPCB's documented formula, and PM10 set that figure. 8.0 lakh people live within 4 km of it.

161

TODAY, AS MEASURED

Measured on CPCB's documented formula; with the weather removed, the model's 42 stations read 115, against 164 measured.

1.83 crore

NEAR MODERATE OR WORSE

Within 4 km of 43 Moderate-or-worse monitors: 87.7 per cent of Delhi, every pollutant counted.

4.4x

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, 4.0 MB

The day in brief

Today, 08 October 2026, 24 hours to 4 PM: worse than last year on the observed index, +25.1 points; with the weather removed, still 1.5 points worse on the model's count. 1 of 3 pollutants, PM10, show no real improvement. Delhi's AQI was 160.5, Moderate, calculated with CPCB's documented formula as the mean of 44 stations' AQIs (CPCB's note "How is AQI calculated?" and its AQI Calculator; page 33 sets out the formula). Above AQI 200 today: 7 stations, Dwarka-Sector 8 290, Mundka 257, IIT Delhi 252, NSUT Jaffarpur 218, and 3 more in the station table. Poor or worse air reached 39.3 lakh people within 4 km of their monitor today, 18.8 per cent of Delhi.

The year so far, 1 January to 8 October: the cleaner days of 2026 have been the dirtiest for these dates since 2018, because three days in four read above 106.7 on the particle AQI, against 88.5 on the same dates of 2025. The middle day reads 152.8 against 134.5 on the same dates last year. On an average day, 27.1 per cent of Delhi's reporting monitors, about 11 of 43, sat above 200 on the particle AQI.

The findings

What the report says

The verdict, both rulers

On the weather model's own count of 35 matched stations, the observed year reads +32.6 points; with the weather removed it is still +1.5 points worse, on the model's count across 32 of 35 stations. 1 of 3 pollutants, PM10, show no real improvement. With the weather removed, 32 of the model's 35 matched stations read higher than last year.

Against yesterday: the one-day move

From 136 to 161. On the 44 stations that reported on both days, the 95 per cent interval runs 18.7 to 31.6 points.

Against last year: the observed reading

Today 161 across 44 stations. The year is judged on the 35 matched stations: 164 today against 139, the mean of the same date ±7 days of 2025 at those stations. The interval runs 13.4 to 37.1 points.

The worst station in the city today

Poor, set by PM10. Its PM10 averaged 342.2 µg/m³ over the 24 hours to 4 PM, 7.6 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 45 µg/m³. Last year this station read 173 on the mean of the same date ±7 days, so the change is +117 points. 8.0 lakh people live within 4 km of this monitor. Within 500 m of the monitor, 65% of the land is built up and 34% is under vegetation, so this reading describes a densely built neighbourhood.

The year, from its best days to its worst

On the same 281 complete dates, 1 January to 8 October, the best tenth of days reads 74.8 against 71.9 and the worst tenth 291.0 against 287.2. The days at or below 200 went from 205 to 203.

How much of the city was above AQI 200

That is 11.3 of 43.2 reporting stations, against 25.4 per cent over the same dates last year, a change of +1.7 points on an interval of -3.4 to +6.8, 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 44 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 18.8 per cent of Delhi, living around the 7 monitors that read Poor or worse. Dwarka-Sector 8 was worst at 290, and 8.0 lakh people live within 4 km of it. On the wider count, 1.83 crore people, 87.7 per cent of Delhi, live within 4 km of a monitor at Moderate or worse.

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