- By Priyanka Koul
- Sun, 28 Dec 2025 09:31 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Delhi Air Pollution: The national capital recorded air quality in the "severe" category on Sunday, with an overall Air Quality Index reading of 401 at 9 PM, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The meteorological department has issued an orange alert for very dense fog on Monday.
The day before, Delhi's air quality deteriorated once again, plunging back into the 'severe' category after a brief period of improvement. On Saturday, pollution levels surged, causing the city's average AQI to rise to 390, just shy of the 'severe' threshold. Sunday morning visuals from across the city showed a dense layer of smog significantly reducing visibility.
Data from the CPCB's Sameer App shows that 19 monitoring stations across Delhi reported air quality in the "severe" category, with Anand Vihar recording the highest AQI of 457. The rest of the stations reported "very poor" air quality levels.
Delhi Govt has made two GRAP-4 pollution curbs permanent, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa announced. One key measure is that vehicles without a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) will no longer be sold petrol until further notice. “From now on, it has been decided that out of the restrictions under GRAP-4, we have made two restrictions permanent. The first one is PUCC. You will not get petrol anywhere without a PUCC certificate until next orders,” Sirsa said on Friday.
According to CPCB standards, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 to 100 is "satisfactory", 101 to 200 is "moderate", 201 to 300 is "poor", 301 to 400 is "very poor", and 401 to 500 is "severe".
The city recorded a low of 6.3 degrees C, which is 0.5 degrees C below the seasonal average, while the maximum temperature reached 22.5 degrees C, which is 2.1 degrees C above the usual seasonal temperature, according to the meteorological department.