Delhi AQI Reaches 377 as CAQM Issues Show Cause Notices Across Nine Punjab Districts
The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) issued show cause notices on Wednesday to deputy commissioners (DCs) and senior superintendents of police (SSPs) in Jalandhar, Faridkot, Bathinda, Barnala, and Fazilka districts in Punjab. The action was taken for failing to contain paddy stubble burning incidents, non-compliance, and contravention of the commission's directions. This brings the total number of Punjab districts facing direct regulatory action over farm fires to nine over four days.
The commission previously initiated similar regulatory action against the DCs and SSPs of Gurdaspur and Kapurthala on November 3, and Amritsar and Tarn Taran on November 1.
Delhi Records Worst Air Quality in 288 Days
The regulatory enforcement coincided with a sharp deterioration in air quality across the National Capital Region. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported that Delhi recorded its worst 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) in 288 days, spiking to 377 in the 'Very Poor' category at 4 pm on Wednesday. The capital last experienced higher pollution levels on January 20, when the index reached 378.
Nearby cities also reported high pollution levels, with Gurugram recording an AQI of 322 and Noida reaching 330, both in the 'Very Poor' category. By 6:30 pm, real-time pollution readings exceeded the 'Severe' threshold of 400 across more than a dozen monitoring stations in Delhi. The IIT Delhi monitoring station registered an AQI of 455, followed by Jahangirpuri at 449, Punjabi Bagh at 446, Mundka at 439, Vivek Vihar at 436, Delhi Technological University at 434, Rohini at 432, and Alipur and Narela at 429.
In the broader region, Sector 62 in Noida reached a 'Severe' AQI of 425. In Haryana, Panchgaon recorded an AQI of 391 and Bahadurgarh reached 365, while Gajraula in Uttar Pradesh recorded 390, all within the 'Very Poor' range. CPCB data indicated that fine particulate matter, specifically PM2.5 and PM10, served as the primary pollutants driving the increase.
Stubble Burning and Regional Emissions
Data from the Decision Support System (DSS), developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), estimated that regional stubble burning contributed 16.28% to Delhi's PM2.5 concentrations on Wednesday. Local transport emissions formed the largest single contributor, accounting for 18.17% of the PM2.5 levels.
Satellite monitoring by the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) detected 467 active paddy residue burning events across six northern and central states on Wednesday. Madhya Pradesh reported the highest single-day count with 157 farm fires, followed by Punjab with 151, Rajasthan with 111, Uttar Pradesh with 33, Haryana with 10, and Uttarakhand with 5. No farm fires were reported in Delhi.
Cumulative figures from September 15 to November 4 show Punjab recorded 2,347 farm fires. This reflects a reduction from 2,839 incidents reported during the same timeframe in 2025 and 14,173 in 2023. Within Punjab, the highest number of active residue fires on Wednesday occurred in Bathinda with 19, Patiala with 17, and Ludhiana and Tarn Taran with 13 each. In Haryana, Kaithal registered 4 incidents, raising the state's total cumulative count to 62.
Weather Outlook and Forecast
According to forecasts by IITM officials, Delhi's AQI is expected to remain in the 'Very Poor' category on November 5, before deteriorating into the 'Severe' category on Friday and Saturday, coinciding with Diwali celebrations over the weekend. The extended six-day outlook indicates that AQI levels are likely to stay in the 'Severe' category due to unfavourable meteorological conditions.
At the Safdarjung base station, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 29.8 degrees Celsius and a minimum temperature of 16.1 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, both near normal seasonal averages. India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials noted shallow fog at Safdarjung airport during the morning, where visibility dropped to 800 metres between 6:30 am and 9:30 am, before improving to 1,000 metres by 10 am.
Surface winds blew from the west at speeds reaching up to 15 kmph over the preceding 24 hours, slowing to around 10 kmph during the forenoon. The IMD forecasts mainly clear skies with shallow fog or mist at isolated locations during morning hours over the next three days. Surface winds are expected to blow predominantly from the north-west at 20 to 22 kmph during the afternoon, decreasing to 10 to 12 kmph during evening and night hours.
