By Anushka Rajvedi
A thick blanket of smog blanketed multiple areas of the capital earlier this morning, particularly in and around the ITO area where the AQI reached 290 in the morning.
After a short reprieve, the air quality in Delhi again has declined again on Thursday, with an overall AQI of 264 in the “poor” category reported by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Even worse is that the air quality will deteriorate further to “very poor” in the upcoming days, making the Capital feel claustrophobic and gloomy for its residents.
A thick blanket of smog has encapsulated multiple areas of the State of Delhi earlier this morning, particularly in and around the ITO area where the AQI reached around 290 in the morning. North Delhi’s Narela also had poor air quality, with the AQI at 294. This is a reversal from just one day ago when Delhi had its cleanest air in approximately a week, with the AQI dropping to 202 in the evening. This was much better than the “very poor” earlier this week. Other key pollutants also decreased, with PM10 dropping from 260 to 175.2 micrograms per cubic metre and PM2.5 from 128.2 to 85.5.
However, by Thursday morning, the majority of the 38 monitoring stations in the city were back at concerning levels. With marathons and ‘health walks’ happening across the city, this worsening pollution can prove to be extremely dangerous for the citizens, making them prone to illnesses and weakness.
According to data posted in the CPCB’s Sameer app, 28 monitoring stations were at “very poor,” with levels above 300. It added that Delhi’s air is likely to remain “very poor” between November 6 and 8. Simultaneously, an India Today ground investigation cast doubt on the authenticity of official data.
However the independent monitor of India Today has shown the AQI levels to be inaccurate. The data from CPCB shows that the AQI levels in Delhi on 5 November 2025 were 215, but the independent monitor finds the AQI levels to be above 350.
As a measure to fight against the air pollution and get the AQI levels back to normal, the Delhi Government initiated a road cleaning operation for all Public Works Department (PWD) roads as part of a bid to clean pollution levels in the national capital and there are 200 maintenance vans stationed throughout the city.