Delhi overtook Pakistan’s Lahore in IQAir’s live ranking of major cities on Friday as thick smog reduced visibility across India’s capital. The Swiss air-quality monitor recorded an air quality index reading of 334 for Delhi in the morning, a level it classifies as hazardous.
India’s Central Pollution Control Board reported a reading of 403 on its own index, placing Delhi in its severe category. The two figures use different scales and calculation methods, so they cannot be compared directly. On the city’s main roads, footage showed cars and motorcycles emerging from haze thick enough to obscure street lights.
New Delhi had the highest annual reading among capitals
IQAir’s 2025 World Air Quality Report puts the latest episode in a longer-term context. New Delhi recorded an annual average concentration of fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, of 82.2 micrograms per cubic metre. That was down from 91.6 in 2024 but still more than 16 times the World Health Organization’s annual guideline of 5 micrograms per cubic metre. It was the highest annual average among the national capitals covered by the report.
The live ranking and the annual report measure different things. Friday’s ranking reflected conditions at the time of the reading and can shift as pollution levels change through the day. The annual average measures how much fine particulate pollution was present over the course of a year.
Cooler weather traps pollution
Delhi’s smog is part of a seasonal pattern across northern India and neighbouring Pakistan. As winter approaches, cooler, still conditions can keep pollutants close to the ground. Vehicle exhaust, construction dust and smoke from agricultural burning all contribute to the regional haze.
PM2.5 is small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs. Friday’s hazardous reading captured the severity of the immediate episode, while IQAir’s annual figures showed that exposure remained high even after New Delhi’s average improved in 2025.
NewsHub Finance | Environment | 13 November 2026
Delhi overtook Pakistan’s Lahore in IQAir’s live ranking of major cities on Friday as thick smog reduced visibility across India’s capital. The Swiss air-quality monitor recorded an air quality index reading of 334 for Delhi in the morning, a level it classifies as hazardous.
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