How is air quality in India in 2026?

Delhi-NCR faces a recurring winter pollution season when low winds and a shallow atmospheric layer trap emissions near the ground. Crop-residue burning in neighbouring states, local traffic, construction dust, and industry all feed the mix; the meteorology makes October–February weeks feel especially hard: Living in Delhi and Winter cold.

CREA analysis of CPCB continuous monitors for winter 2025–26 (1 October 2025 to 28 February 2026) put Delhi’s average PM2.5 around 163 µg/m³, with many days in “very poor” or “severe” AQI bands, while Ghaziabad and Noida ranked even higher in that snapshot. Among megacities in the same window, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai also sat above India’s annual PM2.5 standard in the report’s city averages, whereas Bengaluru’s winter average sat near or slightly under that national benchmark: Living in Bangalore and Living in Mumbai.

Monsoon rains and stronger mixing often bring relative relief. Summer heat is a different discomfort: Summer heat.

Treat Delhi-NCR air quality as a household budget line. Capable HEPA-style purifiers, spare filters, sealed bedrooms, and masks for outdoor trips matter during bad weeks. Some families keep children indoors, shift sport to evenings with clearer readings, or escape to hill stations when AQI stays severe.

Confirm private clinic panels if anyone has asthma or other respiratory risk: Healthcare costs. Climate fit for milder metro weeks often points to Bangalore: Best climate and Where to live in India.