Delhi and five neighbouring cities: Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Faridabad and Greater Noida.

Noida in the past 24 hours

275 AQI

Down 58 since this time yesterday

Poor

CPCB's average of Noida's stations for 11pm, November 3

Official AQI bulletin figure, November 3: 291Poor or worse for 3 days

Main pollutant
Fine particles
PM2.5 · leads at 6 of 6 stations
Wind
Calm
still air
Safdarjung, 11.30pm
Farm fires
Farm fires spotted by NASA's satellite in Punjab and Haryana: October 27, 65; October 28, 138; October 29, 157; October 30, 55; October 31, 106; November 1, 171; November 2, 167.
Punjab and Haryana · NASA, an undercount
October 1: 194, ModerateOctober 2: 202, PoorOctober 3: 204, PoorOctober 4: 281, PoorOctober 5: 268, PoorOctober 6: 189, ModerateOctober 7: 129, ModerateOctober 8: 158, ModerateOctober 9: 181, ModerateOctober 10: 110, ModerateOctober 11: 109, ModerateOctober 12: 74, SatisfactoryOctober 13: 238, PoorOctober 14: 201, PoorOctober 15: 159, ModerateOctober 16: 83, SatisfactoryOctober 17: 203, PoorOctober 18: 170, ModerateOctober 19: 138, ModerateOctober 20: 161, ModerateOctober 21: 249, PoorOctober 22: 242, PoorOctober 23: 205, PoorOctober 24: 191, ModerateOctober 25: 131, ModerateOctober 26: 157, ModerateOctober 27: 164, ModerateOctober 28: 246, PoorOctober 29: 222, PoorOctober 30: 58, SatisfactoryOctober 31: 106, ModerateNovember 1: 248, PoorNovember 2: 330, Very PoorNovember 3: 291, Poor

Noida's official daily AQI since October 1:1 Very Poor14 Poor16 Moderate3 Satisfactory

The Air We Breathe · HT Pollution Dashboard hindustantimes.com/breathe

Your location and searches stay on your device. Your phone then asks us for the nearest station's figures.

Noida's main pollutants in the past 24 hours

PM2.5 (fine particles) has been the main pollutant at every reporting Noida station over the past 24 hours.

Each pollutant's score at Noida's 6 reporting stations, on CPCB's 0 to 500 scale. The line runs from the lowest station to the highest; the dot is the middle station.

PollutantLowest to highest stationMiddle station
PM2.5fine particlesMiddle station 268, Poor; lowest 155, highest 404.268Poor
PM10coarse particlesMiddle station 186, Moderate; lowest 123, highest 353.186Moderate
COcarbon monoxideMiddle station 85, Satisfactory; lowest 64, highest 93.85Satisfactory
NO2nitrogen dioxideMiddle station 52, Satisfactory; lowest 19, highest 84.52Satisfactory
O3ozoneMiddle station 31, Good; lowest 23, highest 39.31Good
NH3ammoniaMiddle station 15, Good; lowest 9, highest 20.15Good
SO2sulphur dioxideMiddle station 8, Good; lowest 3, highest 11.8Good

Each score is CPCB's running average: over the past 24 hours for PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and ammonia, over the past 8 hours for ozone and carbon monoxide.

The mix differs from station to station.

Noida: hour by hour, the past day

50100200300400Nov 36am12pm6pm
Latest: 275, Poor, 11pm, November 3
Show the numbers
TimeAQICategory
11pm, November 3275Poor
10pm, November 3273Poor
9pm, November 3275Poor
8pm, November 3279Poor
7pm, November 3282Poor
6pm, November 3286Poor
5pm, November 3289Poor
4pm, November 3291Poor
3pm, November 3294Poor
2pm, November 3295Poor
1pm, November 3296Poor
12pm, November 3296Poor
11am, November 3299Poor
10am, November 3301Very Poor
9am, November 3304Very Poor
8am, November 3306Very Poor
7am, November 3307Very Poor
6am, November 3310Very Poor
5am, November 3312Very Poor
4am, November 3315Very Poor
3am, November 3319Very Poor
2am, November 3323Very Poor
1am, November 3327Very Poor
midnight, November 3330Very Poor
11pm, November 2333Very Poor
About these figures
  • At 11pm, PM2.5 (fine particles) led at 6 of Noida's 6 reporting stations.
  • This hourly figure averages the city's monitoring stations. CPCB's official figure for the day is its 4pm bulletin, below.
  • Each station is led by whichever pollutant scores highest on CPCB's 0 to 500 scale. Ozone forms from other pollutants in sunlight, so it can lead on sunny afternoons.
  • Like each station's number, it is an average of recent hours, so it changes slowly.

Source: CPCB. Analysis: HT Pollution Dashboard.

Today's official AQI bulletin figure

291Poor

Down 39 from 330 the day before.

Across India

Noida's figure was the 13th worst of the 272 cities in CPCB's bulletin for November 3.

The worst figures on November 3
1Gajraula399
2Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh360
3Delhi, Delhi350
4Bahadurgarh, Haryana324
5Panchgaon320
6Ballabgarh, Haryana319
7Khora318
8Manesar, Haryana309
9Gurugram, Haryana305
9Modinagar305

A city's figure can rest on one station or on dozens, so its place is a rough guide.

About these figures
  • CPCB publishes one figure a day for each city, covering the 24 hours to 4pm on November 3. This one came out at 4.07pm. Read CPCB's bulletin (PDF)
  • Based on 6 of Noida's 7 stations.
  • Main pollutant: PM2.5 (fine particles).
  • CPCB's six categories are Good (up to 50), Satisfactory (to 100), Moderate (to 200), Poor (to 300), Very Poor (to 400) and Severe (to 500).
  • The daily figure averages the city's stations over the 24 hours to 4pm. The hourly figure above can differ from it.

Source: CPCB daily AQI bulletin. Analysis: HT Pollution Dashboard.

Stations across Delhi-NCR

Each dot is a monitoring station, coloured by CPCB's reading for 11pm, November 3.

FaridabadGhaziabadGreater NoidaGurugramNoida10 km

Stations in Noida, highest first

Show the numbers
StationAQICategory
Jahangirpuri, Delhi447Severe
Punjabi Bagh, Delhi440Severe
Mundka, Delhi435Severe
Rohini, Delhi433Severe
DTU, Delhi428Severe
Alipur, Delhi418Severe
IIT Delhi, Delhi418Severe
Vivek Vihar, Delhi416Severe
Narela, Delhi413Severe
Bawana, Delhi407Severe
Sector - 62, Noida404Severe
R K Puram, Delhi403Severe
Pusa, Delhi402Severe
North Campus, DU, Delhi397Very Poor
ITO, Delhi394Very Poor
Patparganj, Delhi393Very Poor
Sirifort, Delhi391Very Poor
Mandir Marg, Delhi390Very Poor
NIH Narela, Delhi390Very Poor
Dwarka-Sector 8, Delhi384Very Poor
Okhla Phase-2, Delhi384Very Poor
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi383Very Poor
Burari Crossing, Delhi379Very Poor
Pusa, Delhi379Very Poor
Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, Delhi377Very Poor
Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Delhi375Very Poor
Talkatora Garden, Delhi375Very Poor
Sector-39, Noida371Very Poor
CRRI Mathura Road, Delhi369Very Poor
Commonwealth Sports Complex, Delhi368Very Poor
JNU, Delhi364Very Poor
NSUT Jaffarpur, Delhi361Very Poor
Wazirpur, Delhi360Very Poor
Chandni Chowk, Delhi359Very Poor
Najafgarh, Delhi356Very Poor
Burari, Delhi354Very Poor
Aya Nagar, Delhi348Very Poor
NISE Gwal Pahari, Gurugram346Very Poor
Teri Gram, Gurugram345Very Poor
Ashok Vihar, Delhi344Very Poor
Shadipur, Delhi344Very Poor
Sector-150, Noida343Very Poor
Sector-51, Gurugram332Very Poor
Ghoga, Delhi330Very Poor
IGI Airport (T3), Delhi329Very Poor
Jharoda Kalan, Delhi320Very Poor
NSIT Dwarka, Delhi319Very Poor
Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi319Very Poor
Badarpur, Delhi318Very Poor
Nehru Nagar, Delhi317Very Poor
IHBAS, Dilshad Garden, Delhi306Very Poor
Tikri Kalan, Delhi306Very Poor
Wave City, Ghaziabad305Very Poor
Karala, Delhi304Very Poor
Loni, Ghaziabad301Very Poor
Uttam Nagar, Delhi301Very Poor
Ghummanhera, Delhi291Poor
Anand Vihar, Delhi283Poor
Sri Aurobindo Marg, Delhi283Poor
Maidan Garhi, Delhi278Poor
Cantonment Area, Delhi276Poor
IMD Lodhi Road, Delhi267Poor
Sanjay Nagar, Ghaziabad267Poor
Chhawla, Delhi265Poor
Vikas Sadan, Gurugram257Poor
IGNOU_Maidan Garhi, Delhi239Poor
Lodhi Road, Delhi228Poor
Knowledge Park - V, Greater Noida208Poor
Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida198Moderate
Indirapuram, Ghaziabad194Moderate
Sector-116, Noida192Moderate
New Industrial Town, Faridabad186Moderate
Sector - 125, Noida185Moderate
Ved Vihar-Loni, Ghaziabad179Moderate
Vasundhara, Ghaziabad173Moderate
New Tehsil-Loni, Ghaziabad171Moderate
Govindpuram, Ghaziabad166Moderate
Sector-1, Noida155Moderate
Knowledge Park - III, Greater Noida153Moderate
Sector 30, Faridabad98Satisfactory
Sector 11, Faridabad85Satisfactory
Nangloi, DelhiNo figure this hour
Sector-110, NoidaNo figure this hour
Sonia Vihar, DelhiNo figure this hour
About these figures
  • A hollow dot is a station with no reading for this hour.
  • Your position, if you share it, is used only in your browser to place the ring. It is not sent to HT.

Source: CPCB. Analysis: HT Pollution Dashboard. District and state outlines: DataMeet (CC BY 4.0), simplified.

The weather and air quality

Delhi's air got worse than the day before: CPCB's official figure rose 26, from 324 on November 2 to 350 on November 3, Very Poor. It was the fourth day in a row the official figure rose: up 290 since October 30, from Satisfactory to Very Poor.

Also at play

  • The air was calm overnight, but at dawn the lid of warm air sat higher than the morning before.

From the HT Pollution Dashboard's evening edition, 7.21pm.

These readings come from IMD's weather balloon and observatory at Safdarjung in Delhi, the closest reference point for Noida. The rain figures are Delhi's too: IMD's automatic weather stations and rain gauges in the region can only be read after signing in to IMD's network, and the air-quality monitors in Noida do not publish rainfall in their open data.

The wind now

NESWCalm

Still air: pollution stays close to where it is made.

Safdarjung airfield, 11.30pm

Since the 4pm bulletin

No rain at Safdarjung since 4pm today. The wind has averaged 1 km/h, mostly from the west-south-west.

  • Drier air moved in from about 8.30pm, the dew point at Safdarjung airfield falling from 23°C to as low as 18°C.
More on the inversion effect and how it influences air quality

The air across Delhi-NCR has a daily rhythm. A crucial part of it is known as the atmospheric inversion, when a lid of air impedes how much wind and emissions move close to the ground. At night a lid of warm air settles low over the region and holds the night's smoke near the ground. After sunrise the sun warms the ground, the lid lifts and pollution mixes upwards. By late afternoon the air has had all the room it will get that day; after sunset the lid forms again.

That is why HT reads IMD’s 4.30pm weather balloon: it shows the most room the day gave the city’s pollution to spread and thin out. If the lid lasts all day, pollution tends to stay high.

Normally the air is warmest at the ground and cools with height, so air warmed by the ground rises and carries pollution upwards. On clear, calm nights the ground cools fast and chills the air just above it, while the air higher up stays warmer. This upside-down layering is called an inversion. It works like a lid, because cold air below cannot rise through the warm layer, and the night's smoke and dust stay near the ground. The sun breaks the lid by warming the ground again. In October and November the afternoon sun almost always breaks the lid. Last winter it was still there at 4.30pm on 2 of 30 October afternoons and 1 of 30 in November.

How much the weather helps depends on both: how high the air can spread, and how fast the wind moves through it. The wind measured 10 metres above the ground at Safdarjung shows whether the air people breathe is moving. Calm hours let pollution build up near the ground, even when the air higher up has room to spread. The balloon readings show how much room the weather gave the air to clear. Whether it did clear also depends on the wind near the ground, so the two are read together.

Rain washes particles out of the air. A little rain does not always clean the air. Light drizzle can leave the air damp and still, and in past winters scant rain in Delhi has at times been followed by worse air, not better.

CPCB's figures average recent hours, so a change in the weather can take hours to show in them.

About these figures
  • Today, 4.30am: a lid of warm air about 300 metres up, about 6°C warmer than the ground; the wind beneath it 11 km/h from the north-north-west.
  • This afternoon: the air could spread about 600 metres up, with the wind through it averaging 20 km/h; the usual for early November is 1,300 metres and 13 km/h.
  • This shows how much the weather let the air clear. It does not measure pollution or show where it came from.
  • A weather balloon that IMD sends up at Safdarjung at 4.30pm measures how high pollution can spread. The 4.30am balloon measures the lid.
  • The same balloon measures the wind through that air.
  • The usual is the middle value for the same half-month over the six winters from 2019-20 to 2024-25, from the same balloon.
  • One balloon at Safdarjung stands for all of Delhi-NCR.
  • CPCB's daily figure covers the 24 hours to 4pm, so a change in the weather can show here before it shows in that figure.

Source: IMD weather balloon and observatory, Safdarjung. Analysis: HT Pollution Dashboard.

Noida: this season against past seasons

Noida's official figure averaged 214 over the week to November 3, the cleanest of the 10 years for that week, going back to 2017.

The official daily figure, October 1 to November 24

50100200300400500DussehraDiwaliOct 1Oct 8Oct 15Oct 22Nov 1Nov 8Nov 15Nov 22
Latest: 291, Poor, November 3

Dussehra (October 20) and Diwali (November 8) fall in this period.

Show the numbers
DateThis seasonPast middle
October 1194150
October 2202169
October 3204159
October 4281176
October 5268173
October 6189136
October 7129127
October 8158147
October 9181163
October 10110170
October 11109188
October 1274180
October 13238243
October 14201230
October 15159248
October 1683268
October 17203283
October 18170243
October 19138236
October 20161240
October 21249260
October 22242290
October 23205261
October 24191305
October 25131299
October 26157280
October 27164327
October 28246301
October 29222328
October 3058332
October 31106347
November 1248344
November 2330339
November 3291333
November 4365
November 5414
November 6347
November 7328
November 8405
November 9394
November 10344
November 11381
November 12408
November 13389
November 14364
November 15360
November 16338
November 17286
November 18288
November 19284
November 20320
November 21322
November 22312
November 23322
November 24325
November 25336
November 26350
November 27334
November 28308
November 29272
November 30326
December 1321
December 2344
December 3355
December 4355
December 5339
December 6317
December 7279
December 8253
December 9285
December 10310
December 11322
December 12337
December 13264
December 14230
December 15243
December 16280
December 17288
December 18318
December 19324
December 20333
December 21363
December 22366
December 23390
December 24391
December 25383
December 26370
December 27388
December 28351
December 29324
December 30344
December 31369
January 1388
January 2380
January 3340
January 4357
January 5342
January 6314
January 7288
January 8292
January 9346
January 10240
January 11264
January 12278
January 13348
January 14319
January 15285
January 16288
January 17327
January 18334
January 19326
January 20310
January 21329
January 22314
January 23270
January 24242
January 25224
January 26283
January 27287
January 28254
January 29247
January 30238
January 31304
About these figures
  • Past seasons: 2017-18 to 2025-26 (9). Diwali fell between October 19 and November 14 in those years, so its spike sits on different days in each season.
  • Each season here runs from October 1 to January 31. Days without a bulletin are gaps, never filled.
  • The comparison uses the average of the latest seven bulletins against the same seven days in each earlier year, so one unusual day does not decide it.
  • Some cities joined CPCB's bulletin later than others, so their comparison covers fewer years.

Source: CPCB daily AQI bulletin. Analysis: HT Pollution Dashboard.

Farm fires in Punjab and Haryana

1,561fires spotted by NASA's satellite, October 1 to November 2

NASA's satellite passes at about 1.30pm, and most burning now happens later in the day, so its count is far below the real number.

From the HT Pollution Dashboard's evening edition, 7.21pm.

Fires spotted each day

0100200October 1November 2
Show the numbers
DateFires spotted
October 111
October 228
October 37
October 410
October 58
October 68
October 725
October 810
October 98
October 1014
October 110
October 1213
October 130
October 1415
October 153
October 167
October 1748
October 18112
October 1948
October 2022
October 2140
October 2258
October 2350
October 2463
October 2525
October 2669
October 2765
October 28138
October 29157
October 3055
October 31106
November 1171
November 2167
About these figures
  • A lower count than last season does not mean fewer fires. Since 2021, most burning happens after the satellite passes, so its count cannot show whether burning rose or fell.
  • The count leaves out fixed hot spots such as factories, and detections the satellite is unsure of.
  • The count comes from the VIIRS instrument, which sees the ground in squares about 375 metres across. NASA's older MODIS instrument sees squares about 1 km across, so it can count nearby fires as one; counts from the two are not comparable.

Source: NASA FIRMS, VIIRS instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite. Analysis: HT Pollution Dashboard.