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The national capital New Delhi registered some improvement in air quality as the air quality index (AQI) recorded an overall AQI at 292 on Friday, December 26.
The AQI levels fall into the "poor" category. The improvement has been witnessed over the last two days after the capital recorded a "severe" category AQI at 412 on December 23.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) Sameer mobile application data, three monitoring stations recorded air quality in the "moderate" category, as of 6:05 am. These were Lodhi Road-IITM (160), Lodhi Road-IMD (194) and Najafgarh (188).
Some stations also recorded AQI in the "poor" category such as Aya Nagar (212), CRRI Mathura Road (265), Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range (290), Dwarka Sector 8 (282), IGI Airport T3 (238), IIT Delhi (231), JLN Stadium (253), and Mandir Marg (222) among others.
However, many stations continued to record air quality in the "very poor" category, with Anand Vihar (377), Bawana (363), Jahangirpuri (372), Narela (345), Nehru Nagar (346), Sonia Vihar (353) and Vivek Vihar (361) recording some of the highest readings.
Following the improvement in air quality, the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) had lifted the GRAP Stage-IV restrictions from the Delhi NCR on December 24. If the air quality continues to improve, further relaxations are expected to follow.
In the surrounding national capital region, Haryana's Bahadurgarh recorded an AQI at 301, while Gurugram's overall AQI levels stood in the "poor" range at 270. One out of its four pollution monitoring stations located at Sector 51 recorded AQI in the very poor range at 375.
Similarly, the state's Dharuhera also reported "poor" air quality with an AQI of 279.
Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad recorded an overall AQI of 344, with all four of its monitoring stations registering very poor AQI levels.
Greater Noida recorded an overall AQI at 362 with its Knowledge Park-V station recording AQI at 386, and Knowledge Park-III reporting levels of 337.
Noida's overall AQI also fell in the very poor category at 334. Three of its four stations — Sector 125 (357), Sector 1 (342), and Sector 116 (340) — reported very poor AQI.
The AQI levels fall into the "poor" category. The improvement has been witnessed over the last two days after the capital recorded a "severe" category AQI at 412 on December 23.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) Sameer mobile application data, three monitoring stations recorded air quality in the "moderate" category, as of 6:05 am. These were Lodhi Road-IITM (160), Lodhi Road-IMD (194) and Najafgarh (188).
#WATCH | Delhi | Visuals around the ITO area as a layer of smog engulfs the national capital.
AQI (Air Quality Index) around the area is 314, categorised as 'very poor', as claimed by CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board). pic.twitter.com/mK1UzgNjOh
— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2025
Some stations also recorded AQI in the "poor" category such as Aya Nagar (212), CRRI Mathura Road (265), Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range (290), Dwarka Sector 8 (282), IGI Airport T3 (238), IIT Delhi (231), JLN Stadium (253), and Mandir Marg (222) among others.
However, many stations continued to record air quality in the "very poor" category, with Anand Vihar (377), Bawana (363), Jahangirpuri (372), Narela (345), Nehru Nagar (346), Sonia Vihar (353) and Vivek Vihar (361) recording some of the highest readings.
Following the improvement in air quality, the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) had lifted the GRAP Stage-IV restrictions from the Delhi NCR on December 24. If the air quality continues to improve, further relaxations are expected to follow.
#WATCH | Delhi | Visuals around AIIMS as a layer of smog engulfs
the national capital.
AQI (Air Quality Index) around the area is 117, categorised as 'moderate', as claimed by CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board). pic.twitter.com/ELJ2h5iWc7
— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2025
In the surrounding national capital region, Haryana's Bahadurgarh recorded an AQI at 301, while Gurugram's overall AQI levels stood in the "poor" range at 270. One out of its four pollution monitoring stations located at Sector 51 recorded AQI in the very poor range at 375.
Similarly, the state's Dharuhera also reported "poor" air quality with an AQI of 279.
Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad recorded an overall AQI of 344, with all four of its monitoring stations registering very poor AQI levels.
Greater Noida recorded an overall AQI at 362 with its Knowledge Park-V station recording AQI at 386, and Knowledge Park-III reporting levels of 337.
#WATCH | Delhi | Visuals around the Dhaula Kuan area as a layer of smog engulfs the national capital.
AQI (Air Quality Index) around the area is 320, categorised as 'very poor', as claimed by CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board). pic.twitter.com/6qRBabjA32
— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2025
Noida's overall AQI also fell in the very poor category at 334. Three of its four stations — Sector 125 (357), Sector 1 (342), and Sector 116 (340) — reported very poor AQI.
