Delhi air quality worsened in 2026, report says; Cong flags CAQM data omission
New Delhi, Oct 1 (UNI) Delhi breathed worst air in the first nine months of 2026 than in the same period last year, even as the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) omitted the January-September average from its latest air-quality assessment, according to an analysis of official pollution data.
Using the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) daily 4 PM AQI bulletins, the analysis puts Delhi's January-September 2026 average AQI at 167.6, up from 164.3 in 2025. The January-August average also rose, to 175.7 from 171.7.
Citing the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) daily 4 PM AQI bulletins, the analysis said Delhi recorded an average AQI of 167.6 between January and September 2026, compared with 164.3 during the corresponding period in 2025.
The January-August average was also higher this year, at 175.7, against 171.7 in 2025, the analysis said.
According to Hawa Ka Hisab, CAQM did not publish a cumulative air-quality statistics release for any period between January and August 2026. Its latest release, issued on September 30, covered the January-September period but left out the overall average for those nine months.
The analysis found that February, March, July and August recorded worse average AQI levels in 2026 than in the corresponding months last year.
July witnessed the sharpest deterioration, with Delhi recording an average AQI of 117.8, compared with 78.4 in July 2025. Based on CAQM's tables, the analysis described it as Delhi's worst July since 2019.
Hawa Ka Hisab also examined data from 39 monitoring stations that reported readings in both years. It said the AQI reached 500, the highest value on the scale, for 796 station-hours in 2026, compared with 256 station-hours in 2025.
During those periods, PM2.5 levels reportedly averaged 439 micrograms per cubic metre, which Hawa Ka Hisab calculated was around 29 times the World Health Organisation's 24-hour guideline.
The analysis also questioned CAQM's statement that Delhi recorded the "lowest levels of PM2.5". The Commission's release listed PM2.5 at 69 micrograms per cubic metre for both 2025 and 2026.
The format of the release also changed as Hawa Ka Hisab flagged difference in the periods used by CAQM for comparison. While the Commission's 2025 release included the January-September average and comparisons dating back to 2018, its latest release omitted the January-September average and began the comparison from 2022.
Congress leader Ajay Maken criticised the Commission's handling of the data.
"The CPCB's own bulletins show that Delhi's air got worse this year. The Commission did not issue a single statistics release for January to August, and when it did publish, the January to September average was missing," Maken said.
Maken has also written to CAQM's two non-official members, Arvind Wable and Arunabha Ghosh, seeking publication of the monthly statistics for January through August 2026 as well as the January-September average.
He has also sought restoration of the longer-term comparison beginning in 2018 and correction of the claim regarding the "lowest levels of PM2.5", citing figures contained in CAQM's own release. UNI AAB
