Air quality
Air quality in New Delhi today
Updated
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (US AQI 130) People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. Model estimate for Mon, Oct 26, 12:30 am (19:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for New Delhi, Delhi, India, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 130 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
- PM2.5
- 81 µg/m³ 5.4× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 280 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 48 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 130
- Best hour today
- 6:30 am AQI 142
- European AQI
- 103
Air quality in New Delhi right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for New Delhi, Delhi, India is 130, which falls in the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" band (up to 150). People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.
The index is driven mainly by PM2.5, whose own sub-index is 130. Fine and coarse particles come from traffic, heating, industry, dust and smoke; they build up on calm nights and clear when wind or rain arrives.
PM2.5 is 81 µg/m³, 5.4 times the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 280 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 48 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 32 µg/m³ (above the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: desert dust at 368 µg/m³, high enough to haze the sky, carbon monoxide 719 µg/m³.
New Delhi AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 130 around Mon 12:30 am to 174 around Tue 12:30 am, from "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" at best to "Unhealthy" at worst.
The following day is expected to be worse, averaging about 182 against 151 for the next 24 hours.
| Local time (Asia/Kolkata) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 12:30 am | 130 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 80.8 | 280 | 48 |
| Mon 3:30 am | 136 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 77.3 | 255 | 46 |
| Mon 6:30 am | 142 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 73.6 | 189 | 41 |
| Mon 9:30 am | 151 | Unhealthy | 67.1 | 136 | 71 |
| Mon 12:30 pm | 154 | Unhealthy | 48.5 | 158 | 150 |
| Mon 3:30 pm | 156 | Unhealthy | 68.7 | 329 | 131 |
| Mon 6:30 pm | 160 | Unhealthy | 106.2 | 432 | 74 |
| Mon 9:30 pm | 165 | Unhealthy | 131.3 | 568 | 54 |
| Tue 12:30 am | 174 | Unhealthy | 122 | 488 | 60 |
| Tue 3:30 am | 182 | Unhealthy | 95.2 | 292 | 60 |
| Tue 6:30 am | 184 | Unhealthy | 88 | 227 | 48 |
| Tue 9:30 am | 187 | Unhealthy | 88.5 | 209 | 81 |
| Tue 12:30 pm | 190 | Unhealthy | 50.4 | 127 | 175 |
| Tue 3:30 pm | 186 | Unhealthy | 51.5 | 164 | 157 |
| Tue 6:30 pm | 175 | Unhealthy | 85.7 | 245 | 84 |
| Tue 9:30 pm | 174 | Unhealthy | 118.7 | 445 | 46 |
| Wed 12:30 am | 173 | Unhealthy | 131.8 | 527 | 45 |
Every third hour of the CAMS forecast via Open-Meteo. US AQI uses rolling averages (24 h for particles, 8 h for ozone), so it moves more slowly than the hourly concentrations.
Best time to be outside in New Delhi today
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 6:30 am (AQI 142, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) and the worst around 9:30 pm (AQI 165). That is a swing of 23 points, so a run or walk around 6:30 am is noticeably better.
New Delhi vs the rest of India
Across 191 India cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 118 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). New Delhi at 130 is 12 points worse than average.
It ranks 163 of 191 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Tirunelveli (29) and the most polluted Kākināda (209).
For context, the median across 2,241 cities worldwide is 65.
Air quality in cities near New Delhi
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 4 km | 130 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 80.8 |
| Delhi Cantonment | 8 km | 159 | Unhealthy | 82.9 |
| Dalūpura | 10 km | 159 | Unhealthy | 82.9 |
| Noida | 12 km | 159 | Unhealthy | 82.9 |
| Mandoli | 13 km | 130 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 80.8 |
| Deoli | 13 km | 159 | Unhealthy | 82.9 |
| Bhālswa Jahangirpur | 14 km | 130 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 80.8 |
| Burāri | 15 km | 130 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 80.8 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of New Delhi, so the numbers on this page are model estimates. Models capture regional pollution well but can miss very local sources such as a busy road or a nearby fire.
Wildfire smoke
PM2.5 is forecast to reach 134 µg/m³ in the next 24 hours while NASA satellites detected 215 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 15 km away). Smoke is a likely contributor: keep windows closed, run an air purifier or HVAC filter, and check the fire map before heading out.
Advice for sensitive groups
At 130, children, older adults, pregnant people and anyone with asthma, COPD or heart disease should limit time outdoors, especially strenuous activity. A well-fitted N95/FFP2 mask cuts particle exposure; it does not filter ozone.
What the US AQI numbers mean
| US AQI | Category | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0-50 | Good | Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. |
| 51-100 | Moderate | Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 101-150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 151-200 | Unhealthy | Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed. |
| 201-300 | Very Unhealthy | Health alert: everyone should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors, and sensitive groups should stay indoors. |
| 301-500 | Hazardous | Emergency conditions: everyone should avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors with filtered air if possible. The scale tops out at 500; heavier dust or smoke is shown as 500. |
Values on this page are modelled by CAMS (Copernicus) and served by Open-Meteo; they are estimates for the area around the city centre, not readings from an official monitor.
Nearby cities
More for New Delhi
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.