Delhi AQI at 597 today: Breathing becomes a health risk as pollution hits dangerous peak

New Delhi’s air quality was hazardous on Thursday morning, November 12. The live dashboard on AQI.in showed an Air Quality Index of 597 at 8:11 AM local time. The figure was on the US AQI scale shown in the dashboard. New Delhi ranked 17th among the world’s most polluted cities. The dashboard showed a PM2.5 concentration of 374 micrograms per cubic metre. The PM10 concentration was 394 micrograms per cubic metre. The weather panel listed smoke and a temperature of 22°C. Humidity was 57% and wind speed was 4.7 km/h. The panel showed a UV index of 0.6. The dashboard’s scale puts readings of 301 and above in the hazardous category.

At an AQI of 597, air pollution can irritate the nose and throat. It can trigger coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and breathlessness. Exposure can cause severe asthma attacks or worsen chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Fine particles can enter the bloodstream and raise the risk of heart attacks, irregular heartbeats and heart failure. Headaches, dizziness and severe fatigue may also occur.

The 24-hour chart showed Delhi’s AQI rising sharply overnight after dropping on Wednesday afternoon. The lowest reading was 206 at 4:01 PM on November 11.

Even that reading fell in the severe category. The index climbed back above 300 by around 8 PM. It was close to 500 around midnight and kept climbing into Thursday morning.

Delhi reached a high of 609 at 6:01 AM on November 12. That was 403 points above Wednesday afternoon’s low. The live reading at 8:11 AM was 12 points below the early morning peak. It remained well within the hazardous category.

Delhi’s November air quality record

The air quality calendar showed hazardous readings on every day from November 1 to 11. The calendar showed 205 on October 31, before the reading crossed 300 on November 1.

The month started at 306 and reached 445 on November 4. The reading rose to 461 on November 6, then dipped to 455 on November 7. It climbed again to 470 on November 8.

The highest November reading shown in the calendar was 666 on November 9, just after Diwali 2026. The figure fell to 346 on November 10, then rose to 362 on November 11.

AQI in other Indian metros

Chennai recorded the highest AQI among the seven other metros, at 190. Bengaluru and Hyderabad both stood at 173. Mumbai and Pune recorded matching readings of 170. All five cities fell in the unhealthy category.

Ahmedabad recorded an AQI of 147 while Kolkata stood at 126. Both readings fell in the poor category. Kolkata had the lowest reading among the metros. Chennai’s reading was 64 points higher than Kolkata’s.

New Delhi’s reading was more than three times Chennai’s. None of the seven other metros reached the severe category.