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Delhi: air quality is still classified as “very poor,” and the cold wave is still going strong

Rekha Prajapati January 10, 2026 04:27 PM

Delhi: According to statistics from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Sameer app, Delhi’s air quality remained in the “very poor” category on Saturday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) reading 358 at 6:05 a.m. With a low temperature of 5.4 degrees Celsius, the national capital continued to endure severe cold wave conditions.

Delhi

The AQI was 318 on Friday morning, which was also categorized as “very poor.” According to CPCB statistics, Delhi has been suffering from worsening air quality for a number of days, with several regions registering AQI readings between “very poor” and “severe.”

Nehru Nagar (AQI of 426), Anand Vihar (AQI of 422), Vivek Vihar (AQI of 408), and Sirifort (AQI of 404) were among the places with “severe” air quality. Patparganj (400), Dwarka Sector-8 (399), Okhla Phase-2 (398), JLN Stadium (394), RK Puram and Chandni Chowk (390), Rohini (372), Punjabi Bagh and Mundka (368), Ashok Vihar (359), Bawana (346), Aya Nagar (344), IGI Airport Terminal-3 (325), and Alipur (302).

In the meanwhile, Burari Crossing and Pusa IMD both had “poor” AQIs of 300 and 290, respectively.

An AQI of 0 to 50 is deemed “good,” 51 to 100 “satisfactory,” 101 to 200 “moderate,” 201 to 300 “poor,” 301 to 400 “very poor,” and 401 to 500 “severe” according to CPCB criteria.

The city was still experiencing cold wave conditions in addition to poor air quality. At 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, the minimum temperature fell to 5.4 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). When the lowest temperature in the plains drops to 10 degrees Celsius or below and is at least 4.5 degrees Celsius below average, it is referred to as a cold wave.

At 5.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday morning, the city has already registered the third-lowest minimum temperature of the season and its lowest of the year. The IMD predicts that chilly weather will continue to worsen in North India until January 15. Light to severe fog in the morning has prompted a yellow notice, and partly overcast sky and fog are expected to persist until January 13. In the next days, Delhi’s high temperature is also predicted to dip to around 15 degrees Celsius.