Delhi Logs Best October Air Quality in Eight Years at AQI 166

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change reported on 31 October 2026 that the national capital has just finished its cleanest October in nearly a decade. Delhi's monthly average Air Quality Index for October 2026 settled at 166, the lowest figure for that month in the last eight years.

How this October compares

Every one of the preceding eight Octobers was dirtier. The monthly average stood at 223 last year and climbed as high as 269 in 2018, which makes the 2026 reading a clear break from the pattern of late-autumn smog that usually settles over the city once harvesting and the festival weeks begin.

The ten-month picture

Taken over 1 January to 31 October, Delhi's average works out to 167 this year, better than the 170 of last year and far better than the 201 recorded in 2018. Particulate pollution has eased along with it. Average PM2.5 between 1 January and 29 October measured 69 micrograms per cubic metre, against 72 a year earlier and 93 in 2018. Coarser dust, measured as PM10, averaged 171 micrograms per cubic metre over the same stretch.

More breathable days

The count of clean days tells the same story. Between January and October the city logged 220 days in the 'Good to Moderate' band, meaning a daily average below 200 on the index. That is the largest number since 2018, leaving aside the lockdown year of 2020, when 224 such days were counted. Days in the 'Poor to Severe+' band, above 200 on the index, fell to 84 from 104 in each of the two previous years.

Who watches the air

The Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas, known by its initials CAQM, handles the prevention, control and abatement work with the agencies concerned. It has said the effort will be intensified to improve the air further across Delhi-NCR in the days ahead.