The record · Delhi air
October 2026
22 days of readings from CPCB's Delhi network, 372 hourly observations in all. Every day carries the hours actually observed, so a partial day cannot be read as a complete one.
Day by day
The highest and lowest worst-monitor reading recorded on each day, the monitor that produced the peak, and how many of the city's stations were over 100 at the worst hour.
| Date | Peak AQI | Band | Monitor at the peak | Lowest | Stations over 100 | Hours observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct 2026 | 251 | Poor | IIT Delhi, Delhi - IITM (PM10) | 242 | 43 | 18 |
| 2 Oct 2026 | 256 | Poor | IIT Delhi, Delhi - IITM (PM10) | 244 | 43 | 17 |
| 3 Oct 2026 | 289 | Poor | Dwarka-Sector 8, Delhi - DPCC (PM10) | 241 | 44 | 16 |
| 4 Oct 2026 | 305 | Very Poor | Dwarka-Sector 8, Delhi - DPCC (PM10) | 268 | 44 | 18 |
| 5 Oct 2026 | 283 | Poor | Dwarka-Sector 8, Delhi - DPCC (PM10) | 266 | 43 | 17 |
| 6 Oct 2026 | 304 | Very Poor | Dwarka-Sector 8, Delhi - DPCC (PM10) | 278 | 44 | 9 |
| 7 Oct 2026 | 245 | Poor | Dwarka-Sector 8, Delhi - DPCC (PM10) | 203 | 43 | 16 |
| 8 Oct 2026 | 269 | Poor | Dwarka-Sector 8, Delhi - DPCC (PM10) | 254 | 44 | 16 |
| 9 Oct 2026 | 256 | Poor | Dwarka-Sector 8, Delhi - DPCC (PM10) | 222 | 47 | 19 |
| 10 Oct 2026 | 193 | Moderately Polluted | Dwarka-Sector 8, Delhi - DPCC (PM10) | 149 | 46 | 19 |
| 11 Oct 2026 | 175 | Moderately Polluted | Punjabi Bagh, Delhi - DPCC (CO) | 141 | 41 | 19 |
| 12 Oct 2026 | 180 | Moderately Polluted | Pusa, Delhi - IITM (OZONE) | 122 | 15 | 15 |
| 13 Oct 2026 | 267 | Poor | Vivek Vihar, Delhi - DPCC (PM2.5) | 145 | 51 | 19 |
| 14 Oct 2026 | 282 | Poor | Vivek Vihar, Delhi - DPCC (PM2.5) | 257 | 55 | 19 |
| 15 Oct 2026 | 259 | Poor | Sonia Vihar, Delhi - DPCC (PM2.5) | 218 | 51 | 18 |
| 16 Oct 2026 | 211 | Poor | Vivek Vihar, Delhi - DPCC (PM2.5) | 146 | 28 | 19 |
| 17 Oct 2026 | 286 | Poor | Pusa, Delhi - IITM (OZONE) | 212 | 52 | 19 |
| 18 Oct 2026 | 430 | Severe | ITO, Delhi - CPCB (PM2.5) | 274 | 56 | 21 |
| 19 Oct 2026 | 281 | Poor | Pusa, Delhi - IITM (OZONE) | 204 | 50 | 19 |
| 20 Oct 2026 | 280 | Poor | Pusa, Delhi - IITM (OZONE) | 208 | 55 | 19 |
| 21 Oct 2026 | 338 | Very Poor | Pusa, Delhi - IITM (PM2.5) | 304 | 58 | 19 |
| 22 Oct 2026 | 309 | Very Poor | Chandni Chowk, Delhi - IITM (PM10) | 309 | 57 | 1 |
How to read this table
Four things the columns are, and are not.
The reading is the worst reporting monitor, named — not a city average. CPCB publishes a population-weighted city figure as well, and the two answer different questions. This record keeps the worst because it is what somebody in that part of the city was breathing.
An AQI is already a rolling figure. CPCB's sub-indices are computed over averaging periods set per pollutant — 24 hours for the particulates. So an hourly observation describes a window ending at that hour, not that minute, and the day's peak is the highest such window.
Hours observed is exactly that: a day with four hours in it is four hours of record. Nothing here is interpolated and no missing hour is filled.
100 is the top of CPCB's ‘Satisfactory’ band, which corresponds to the 24-hour standard for the governing pollutant. It is the line this table marks, and what the index actually measures explains the rest.
Cite this month
Reuse freely. The grant is ours to give; CPCB's own terms travel with the underlying readings.
Swechha (2026). Delhi air quality record, October 2026.
Readings from the Central Pollution Control Board network.
https://swechha.in/record/air/2026/10
Licensed CC BY 4.0. Full terms, method and limitations.
- October 2026, hour by hour CSV · 60 KB · 372 observations
- October 2026, every station CSV · 1.9 MB · one row per monitor per hour
Next
The live reading, the rest of the record, and what the numbers mean.