Haze envelopes Delhi amid worsening air quality; min temp rises to 9.6°C

An Air Quality Index (AQI) of 336 was recorded at 8am on Tuesday, compared to 304 (very poor) at 4pm on Monday and 279 (poor) on Sunday

Updated on: Dec 2, 2025, 09:28:00 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

A thick haze enveloped Delhi amid worsening air quality on Tuesday, even as the minimum temperature rose by nearly four degrees to 9.6°C, around normal for this time of the year, after plummeting to the season’s lowest a day earlier.

The AQI deteriorated after a brief improvement on Sunday. (ANI)

An Air Quality Index (AQI) of 336 was recorded at 8am on Tuesday, compared to 304 (very poor) at 4pm on Monday and 279 (poor) on Sunday. The AQI deteriorated after a brief improvement on Sunday, when it was below 300, snapping a 24-day streak between November 6 and November 29, when AQI stayed above 300. Three “severe” air days were recorded during this period from November 11 to November 13.

The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi said the AQI is now likely to stay “very poor” until at least December 4.

The minimum temperatures are likely to oscillate between 5-9°C until December 5. On Monday, the minimum temperature was five degrees below normal. It was also the lowest minimum for December in the first week of the month in at least 14 years, data from 2011 onwards, available on the India Meteorological Department (IMD) website showed.

The IMD has said this chill will continue, with the possibility of cold wave conditions in isolated pockets of Delhi until at least December 5. It declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature is below 10°C or 4.5°C or more below normal. At least two stations need to meet this criterion on two consecutive days. The IMD did not declare a cold wave on Monday, saying this criterion needs to be met on Tuesday as well.

IMD scientist Krishna Mishra said on Monday that the subdivision of Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi reported departures below 4.4°C at least 2 stations. “...being the first day of reporting such departures, it will not be considered as a cold wave day as we declare cold wave only after it is reported on the second consecutive day,” Mishra said.

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

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather major national developments and Karnataka Bandh LIVE.