Report · 16 October 2026

139 AQI at ITO, 24 hours to 4 PM, 16 October 2026, Moderate on CPCB's documented formula, and PM2.5 set that figure. 9.6 lakh people live within 4 km of it.

91.8

TODAY

Delhi's AQI calculated with CPCB's documented formula, the mean of 56 stations.

1.40 crore

NEAR MODERATE OR WORSE

Within 4 km of 19 Moderate-or-worse monitors: 67.0 per cent of Delhi, every pollutant counted.

2.8x

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.

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Narrated in Hindi. Runs 0 seconds.

The day in brief

Today, 16 October 2026, 24 hours to 4 PM: Delhi's AQI was 91.8, Satisfactory, calculated with CPCB's documented formula as the mean of 56 stations' AQIs (CPCB's note "How is AQI calculated?" and its AQI Calculator; page 33 sets out the formula). As measured, 43 of the 45 monitors reading PM2.5 were above the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. The highest reading anywhere in Delhi today was 156 at R K Puram, and carbon monoxide set that figure. The figure at the head of this page is lower, because this record does not anchor its headline on a reading that carbon monoxide set (R K Puram); the count below includes every pollutant. 19 of 56 monitors read Moderate or worse on CPCB's documented formula, and 1.40 crore people, 67.0 per cent of Delhi, live within 4 km of one.

The year so far, 1 January to 15 October: the cleaner days of 2026 have been the dirtiest for these dates since 2019, because three days in four read above 106.5 on the particle AQI, against 89.8 on the same dates of 2025. The middle day reads 151.1 against 135.8 on the same dates last year. On an average day, 26.7 per cent of Delhi's reporting monitors, about 11 of 44, sat above 200 on the particle AQI.

The findings

What the report says

Against yesterday: the one-day move

From 149 to 92. On the 56 stations that reported on both days, the 95 per cent interval runs -66.1 to -49.2 points.

Against last year: the observed reading

Today 92 across 56 stations. The year is judged on the 38 matched stations: 98 today against 255, the mean of the same date ±7 days of 2025 at those stations. The interval runs -170.5 to -146.2 points.

The highest reading not set by carbon monoxide

Moderate, set by PM2.5. Its PM2.5 averaged 73.9 µg/m³ over the 24 hours to 4 PM, 4.9 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Last year this station read 248 on the mean of the same date ±7 days, so the change is -109.1 points. 9.6 lakh people live within 4 km of this monitor. The highest reading of the day was 156 at R K Puram, set by carbon monoxide. Within 500 m of the monitor, 60% of the land is built up and 40% is under vegetation, so this reading describes a mixed neighbourhood.

The year, from its best days to its worst

On the same 288 complete dates, 1 January to 15 October, the best tenth of days reads 75.1 against 72.0 and the worst tenth 288.9 against 281.7. The days at or below 200 went from 211 to 210.

How much of the city was above AQI 200

That is 11.2 of 43.5 reporting stations, against 25.4 per cent over the same dates last year, a change of +1.4 points on an interval of -3.4 to +6.4, 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 56 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 67.0 per cent of Delhi, living around the 19 monitors that read Moderate or worse. No monitor read Poor or worse today. The highest reading this record leads on is ITO at 139, and 9.6 lakh people live within 4 km of it; the higher readings it sets aside are named below.

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