Delhi's September air quality improves to five-year best

Delhi's air quality showed notable improvement in September, with the monthly average Air Quality Index settling at 102, the cleanest reading for the month in at least five years. The figure represents a marked improvement compared to previous September recordings, suggesting potential progress in the capital's ongoing battle against air pollution.

The latest data indicates that September 2025 was cleaner than September 2024 and 2023, when the monthly averages stood at 105 and 108 respectively. September 2022 recorded an average of 104, placing this year's performance among the better performers in recent years.

Additionally, September 2026 marked the highest number of days classified in the 'moderate' air quality category, indicating that more days fell within acceptable pollution levels. This metric is significant as moderate air quality, while not ideal, is considerably better than the 'poor' and 'very poor' categories that frequently afflict Delhi during certain seasons.

The improvement comes as stakeholders continue efforts to address pollution through various interventions. However, experts caution that seasonal factors, particularly crop burning in neighbouring states during autumn and winter months, typically push air quality indices to hazardous levels in subsequent months.