Delhi AQI improves to 167 after rain, Mumbai at 322 ‘very poor’

Delhi recorded an Air Quality Index of 167 in the 'moderate' category on Sunday (25 October 2026) after overnight rain and thunderstorms, the Central Pollution Control Board said. The India Meteorological Department forecast light rain with thunderstorms possible in the evening. The Commission for Air Quality Management had invoked Stage 1 of the Graded Response Action Plan on 21 October. Delhi's reading was its best for 24 October in a decade, Yes Punjab News reports.

Mumbai's AQI plunged to 322 in the 'very poor' category on Saturday (24 October 2026), with officials attributing the spike to construction dust, low wind speeds, open garbage burning, crop fire emissions and firecracker smoke. The Bombay High Court took note, declared an emergency and directed intensified enforcement against polluting activities, Yes Punjab News reports. Doctors advised vulnerable groups to limit outdoor exposure.

Lucknow recorded only one 'good' air day in October, with PM2.5 at 144 on 24 October, Hindustan Times reports. One monitoring station at Kendriya Vidyalaya logged an AQI of 201 in the 'poor' category. Experts attributed the seasonal deterioration to lower temperatures reducing pollutant dispersion, raising concerns about further decline as winter approaches.

Update, 25 October 2026: DD India now also reports the overnight rain in Delhi-NCR, recording 18 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung with 98 per cent humidity and misty conditions, but does not mention the Bombay High Court action on Mumbai's pollution or Lucknow's poor air day.