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Delhi’s October Air Quality Worst First Week Since 2023
Delhi’s air was more polluted during the first week of October than in the same period in the past two years.
Its average air-quality score was 171.
That score is called moderate under India’s air-quality scale.
The air became less clean after the monsoon ended.
Forecasters expected the air to stay in the moderate range for a few more days.
Slow winds and limited air movement can make it harder for pollution to disperse.
Officials also detected 70 crop-residue fires in four states on Wednesday.
The report gives air-quality readings for each of the first seven days of October.
Delhi’s average AQI for October’s first seven days was 171, the highest for that period since 2023.
The daily AQI readings ranged from 136 on Wednesday to 187 on October 4; Wednesday’s reading was in the moderate category.
First-week October averages were 176 in 2023, 155 in 2024, 117 in 2025 and 171 in 2026.
Forecasters expected air quality to remain moderate from October 8 to 10, with low ventilation and slow winds limiting pollutant dispersal.
Authorities detected 70 stubble-burning incidents on Wednesday across Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
- Who
- Delhi and its residents; the report cites data from CREA, CPCB, the Air Quality Early Warning System and IARI.
- What
- Delhi recorded an average AQI of 171 during the first seven days of October, its highest first-week average since 2023.
- Where
- Delhi, with stubble-burning incidents also reported in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
- When
- The first seven days of October 2026; the forecast covered October 8 to 10.
- Why
- The report says Delhi’s air quality dipped after the monsoon withdrew; low ventilation and wind speeds were unfavourable for dispersing pollutants.
Key facts
- First-week average AQI
- 171
- Highest daily AQI reported
- 187 on October 4
- Wednesday AQI
- 136, classified as moderate
- 2023 first-week average
- 176
- Forecast
- Moderate air quality expected October 8–10
- Stubble-burning incidents
- 70 detected on Wednesday: 15 in Punjab, 11 in Uttar Pradesh, 7 in Rajasthan and 37 in Madhya Pradesh
- Conditions affecting pollutant dispersion
- Ventilation index below 6,000 square metres per second and average wind speed below 10 kmph
Sources
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