The verdict, weather removed
On its own count the pipeline puts the observed year at +13.4 points; with the weather removed it is still +2.4 points worse, on the model's count across 29 of 29 stations. 5 of 6 pollutants show no real improvement.
Against yesterday: the one-day move
From 115 to 102. The 95 per cent interval runs -25.4 to -8 points, on 41 matched stations.
Against last year: the observed reading
Today 102 across 42 stations. The year is judged on the 34 matched stations: 107 today against 94, the mean of the same date ±7 days of 2025 at those stations. The interval runs 4.6 to 23.8 points.
The worst station in the city today
Poor, on PM2.5. Last year this station read 82 on the ±7-day mean around this date; the change is 157.7 points. Within 500 m of the monitor, 71% of the land is built up and 26% is under vegetation, so this reading describes a densely built neighbourhood.
The year, from its best days to its worst
On the same 229 dates the best tenth of days reads 83 against 75, and the worst tenth 303 against 301. Each is unchanged inside its margin, and the days at or below 200 went from 150 to 151.
How much of the city was above AQI 200
That is 13.2 of 43.1 reporting stations, against 31 per cent over the same dates last year, a change of +0.5 points on an interval of -3.3 to +4.3, so it is unchanged inside its margin.
Who the monitoring network reaches
Within 4 km live 88 per cent of Delhi's people, within 2 km 41 per cent, and within 500 m only 3.3 per cent. India's own rules ask for about 46 particulate monitors, because IS 5182 scales the count to population, and Delhi has 44. So the count test passes, while 29 of the 44 zones still stretch past 4 km, which is as far as a monitor is held to speak.
What each monitor's reading speaks for
That is 1.3 per cent of Delhi, living around the 1 monitor that read Poor or worse. Bawana was worst at 240, and 268,162 people live within 4 km of it. On the wider count, 59 per cent live within 4 km of a monitor at Moderate or worse.
