Delhi’s air quality deteriorated sharply on Saturday, with the city recording an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 335 at 9 a.m., placing it firmly in the “red zone” and making it the most polluted city in India, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) remained the dominant pollutant. The national capital’s air quality has consistently hovered between “poor” and “very poor” since Diwali, occasionally slipping into the “severe” category.
Temperatures continued to fall across the city, with the minimum settling at 11 degrees Celsius — three notches below the seasonal average.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported a maximum temperature of 28.6 degrees Celsius, around 0.9 degrees below normal.
By comparison, Delhi had recorded a minimum temperature of 9.5 degrees Celsius on October 29 last year, 9.2 degrees on October 23 in 2023, and 7.3 degrees on October 29 in 2022, suggesting a slightly delayed onset of winter this year.
The IMD has forecast mainly clear sky for the day.