Delhi AQI at 256 in ‘poor’ category; visibility improves, minimum temperatures to drop 5–6°C over next 3 days

NEW DELHI: The national capital and surrounding areas woke up to clear skies on Saturday, following a fresh spell of heavy rainfall throughout Friday. The sudden change in weather brought slight relief from pollution, improving air quality and visibility in the region.

Delhi recorded an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 256 at 7 am, keeping it in the “poor” category.



A fall in minimum temperatures of 5-6°C is expected over the next three days, followed by a rise thereafter. Consequently, minimum temperatures are likely to be normal (-1.5°C to 1.5°C) during the next 3 days, above normal (1.6°C to 3.0°C) on 27 & 29.




Temperature expected to be appreciably below normal (-3.1°C to -5.0°C) on 23 and 24 January 2026. Partly cloudy skies on 25 & 26 January 2026, and generally cloudy skies on 23, 24, 27, and 29, with shallow to moderate fog likely during the morning hours for the next 06 days.

Light rain and a thunderstorm in the national capital on Friday brought slight relief from pollution, though the air quality remained in the “poor” category, with the AQI recorded at 297 at 7 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This marked a marginal improvement compared to Thursday morning, when the AQI was 312, placing it in the “very poor” category.

Despite the slight improvement, several parts of the city continued to experience poor air quality. Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 317, Ashok Vihar 335, Wazirpur 351, Punjabi Bagh 326, RK Puram 315, Bawana 342, ITO 266, Chandni Chowk 326, and Dwarka Sector 8 316, according to the CPCB.

Meanwhile, the temperature in Delhi on Friday morning was around 16.4 degrees Celsius at 7 am, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

As per AQI classification, a reading between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 satisfactory, 101 to 200 moderate, 201 to 300 poor, 301 to 400 very poor, and 401 to 500 severe.

(With agency inputs)