रिपोर्ट · 23 September 2026

223 AQI at Chandni Chowk, 24 hours to 4 PM, 23 September 2026, Poor on CPCB's documented formula, and PM2.5 set that figure. 13.2 lakh people live within 4 km of it.

154

TODAY, AS MEASURED

Measured on CPCB's documented formula; with the weather removed, the model's 44 stations read 97, against 159 measured.

1.80 crore

NEAR MODERATE OR WORSE

Within 4 km of 43 Moderate-or-worse monitors: 86.2 per cent of Delhi, every pollutant counted.

4.3x

THE WHO 24-HOUR LINE

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

यहाँ के एक्यूआई आँकड़े उसी फ़ॉर्मूले से निकाले गए हैं, जो केंद्रीय प्रदूषण नियंत्रण बोर्ड (CPCB) अपने वायु गुणवत्ता सूचकांक के लिए प्रकाशित करता है। यह फ़ॉर्मूला CPCB ने अपने दस्तावेज़ों में दिया है: CPCB का नोट: एक्यूआई कैसे निकाला जाता है; CPCB का एक्यूआई कैलकुलेटर।
यह रिपोर्ट अंग्रेज़ी में है।

पूरी रिपोर्ट

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दिन का सार

Today, 23 September 2026, 24 hours to 4 PM: worse than last year on the observed index, +31.7 points; with the weather removed, still 2.9 points worse on the model's count. 2 of 3 pollutants, PM2.5, PM10, show no real improvement. Delhi's AQI was 154, 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 34 sets out the formula). Above AQI 200 today: 4 stations, Chandni Chowk 223, Nehru Nagar 207, Bawana 206, CRRI Mathura Road 201. The highest reading anywhere in Delhi today was 248 at IGI Airport (T3), and ozone set that figure. The figure at the head of this page is lower, because this record does not anchor its headline on IGI Airport (T3), whose nitrogen oxide readings fail this record's consistency check; the count below includes every pollutant. Poor or worse air reached 30.7 lakh people within 4 km of their monitor today, 14.7 per cent of Delhi.

The year so far, 1 January to 23 September: the cleaner days of 2026 have been the dirtiest for these dates since 2019, because three days in four read above 106.8 on the particle AQI, against 88.8 on the same dates of 2025.

निष्कर्ष

रिपोर्ट क्या कहती है

यह रिपोर्ट अंग्रेज़ी में है।

The verdict, both rulers

On the weather model's own count of 38 matched stations, the observed year reads +39.2 points; with the weather removed it is still +2.9 points worse, on the model's count across 36 of 38 stations. 2 of 3 pollutants, PM2.5, PM10, show no real improvement. With the weather removed, 36 of the model's 38 matched stations read higher than last year.

Against yesterday: the one-day move

From 180 to 154. On the 44 stations that reported on both days, the 95 per cent interval runs -32.2 to -19.3 points.

Against last year: the observed reading

Today 154 across 44 stations. The year is judged on the 38 matched stations: 159 today against 127, the mean of the same date ±7 days of 2025 at those stations. The interval runs 21.2 to 42.6 points.

The highest particle reading in the city today

Poor, set by PM2.5. Its PM2.5 averaged 95.2 µg/m³ over the 24 hours to 4 PM, 6.3 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Last year this station read 119 on the mean of the same date ±7 days, so the change is +104.2 points. 13.2 lakh people live within 4 km of this monitor. The highest reading of the day was 248 at IGI Airport (T3), set by ozone. Within 500 m of the monitor, 89% of the land is built up and 10% is under vegetation, so this reading describes a densely built neighbourhood.

The year, from its best days to its worst

On the same 266 complete dates, 1 January to 23 September, the best tenth of days reads 78.6 against 71.9 and the worst tenth 292.6 against 297.0. The days at or below 200 went from 190 to 188.

How much of the city was above AQI 200

That is 11.7 of 43.2 reporting stations, against 26.7 per cent over the same dates last year, a change of +1.5 points on an interval of -3.9 to +7.0, 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 14.7 per cent of Delhi, living around the 4 monitors that read Poor or worse. The highest reading this record leads on is Chandni Chowk at 223, and 13.2 lakh people live within 4 km of it; the higher readings it sets aside are named below. On the wider count, 1.80 crore people, 86.2 per cent of Delhi, live within 4 km of a monitor at Moderate or worse.

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