Overview

• Official CPCB data show an average AQI of 164 for January–September 2025, improving on 178 in 2024 and 167 in 2023.
• CAQM reports the July–September average fell to 91, the cleanest monsoon since 2018 aside from 2020.
• No days reached the ‘Severe’ or ‘Severe+’ categories through September, compared with three such days each in 2024 and 2023.
• Delhi logged 75 ‘satisfactory’ air days this year to date, the highest since 2018 other than the 2020 anomaly.
• Authorities attribute the gains to favorable weather and coordinated controls, with meteorologists noting warmer January conditions, a mild summer, and frequent monsoon rains.