Delhi on Saturday breathed its cleanest air in a very long time as the city recorded an average air quality index (AQI) of 85, the lowest it has logged in the last three years for the January to mid-March period.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) also said that this was the first day of 2025 with a “satisfactory” AQI. In a post on X, it said, “Delhi has witnessed a ‘Satisfactory’ AQI in the month of March, for the first time in five years since 2020.”
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.
Meanwhile, according to CPCB’s AQI monitor, as of 7 pm on Saturday, the Anand Vihar air quality monitor recorded an AQI of 80. The lowest AQI in the capital for the day, as of 7 pm, was recorded in Alipur. It recorded a “Good” air quality level of 48.
The India Meteorological Department had forecast a minimum temperature of 19 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 33 degrees Celsius for Delhi on Saturday, along with thunderstorm and rain.
For Sunday, March 16, the weather department predicted a generally cloudy sky with light rain. It said that the minimum temperature was likely to be around 17 degrees Celsius, while the maximum is expected to settle around 32 degrees Celsius.
GRAP Stage-1 revoked
In view of the improved air quality, CAQM also revoked the restrictions imposed under Stage 1 of the Graded Action Response Plan (GRAP).
The panel’s order read, “AQI of Delhi has shown significant improvement due to favourable winds, light rain/drizzling and improved meteorological conditions prevailing in Delhi-NCR. The AQI of Delhi has been recorded as 85 for March 15, 2025 (in the ‘Satisfactory’ category). Further, the forecast by IMD/IITM also predicts AQI to mainly remain in ‘Satisfactory to Moderate’ category in coming days.”
CAQM has also directed all concerned agencies to sustain better AQI levels in Delhi-NCR and not to let it slip to the ‘poor’ category.
Weather forecast for other states
Meanwhile, as summer is approaching, temperatures are on the rise across India. A village in northern Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district, Ainapur Hobli, recorded a maximum temperature of 42.8 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours.
As per IMD‘s forecast, the maxmimum temperatures over north Interior Karnataka is likely to increase by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius in the next five days.
A heat wave warning has also been issued for isolated places in the region on March 18 and 19. However, no major changes have been predicted for southern Interior Karnataka.
Meanwhile, for Delhi’s neighbor states like Punjab, Haryana Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, the IMD predicted isolated to scattered light or moderate rainfall along with thunderstorm and lightning on March 15 and 16.