Overview
- CPCB monitoring shows citywide air quality in the very poor to severe range with many stations reporting AQI in the 300s and several localities above 400, signaling air so polluted it can harm healthy people.
- Specific Delhi wards registering 'severe' readings include Rohini, Punjabi Bagh, RK Puram, Alipur and ITO, while Noida and Gurugram are also recording very poor AQI levels.
- Experts and multiple reports attribute the episode to a mix of crop‑stubble burning in neighbouring states, vehicle emissions, construction and industrial dust, plus winter meteorology that traps pollutants near the ground.
- Authorities and media are issuing health guidance to stay indoors, use well‑fitting N95 masks when outside, run air purifiers, and limit outdoor exercise, with short‑term measures and GRAP restrictions activated in some areas.
- Longer term warnings stress a systemic problem: CPCB data show few or no 'good' air days for Delhi in recent years and an AQLI analysis estimates that meeting WHO PM2.5 limits would raise average life expectancy in Delhi by roughly eight years.