Delhi’s air quality deteriorates to ‘very poor’ zone; marginal rise in min temp

A 24-hour AQI of 305 (very poor) was recorded at 8am on Friday, compared to 234 (poor) at 4pm on Thursday, 271 (poor) on Wednesday, and 412 (severe) on Tuesday

Published on: Dec 26, 2025, 09:31:05 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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After a brief respite, Delhi’s air quality deteriorated to the “very poor” category on Friday as wind speeds dipped again and also led to a marginal rise in the minimum temperature to 7.7°C. The mercury on Thursday dipped to 6.5°C and was likely to settle between 5-8°C until Monday, before another western disturbance was expected to influence the region and raise the minimum temperatures.

Strong winds up to 20 kilometres per hour helped improve Delhi’s AQI this week. (ANI)

Dense to very dense fog was also likely soon after, as wind speeds dip. A 24-hour average air quality Index (AQI) of 305 (very poor) was recorded at 8am on Friday, compared to 234 (poor) at 4pm on Thursday, 271 (poor) on Wednesday, and 412 (severe) on Tuesday. Strong winds up to 20 kilometres per hour helped improve Delhi’s AQI this week.

The Early Warning System for Delhi (EWS) said that the AQI was expected to improve during the day on Friday under sunny conditions, but likely to deteriorate to “very poor” again later in the day. Delhi’s air quality was likely to remain in the “poor category” until Saturday and “very poor” on Sunday and Monday. “The outlook for the subsequent six days from December 29 shows the air quality is likely to be in the ‘very poor’ category,” said the EWS forecast.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More

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