Delhi Records Cleanest July In A Decade, Air Quality At 67

Delhi recorded its cleanest July in ten years on Wednesday, with the city's average Air Quality Index (AQI) dropping to 67, according to data released by the Central Pollution Control Board. The reading falls in the 'Satisfactory' category.

So far this year, the capital has seen 118 days of 'Good', 'Satisfactory', or 'Moderate' air quality, a shift from previous years, when 'Poor' to 'Severe' levels were more common during the same period.

Among the monitoring stations, Punjabi Bagh reported the lowest AQI at 50, followed by Bawana (51) and Vivek Vihar (55), all in the 'Good' range.

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa called the improvement the result of consistent civic operations and coordination across departments.

"This is not a seasonal blip, it is the result of Delhi's multi-agency implementation model, continuous landfill action, intensified sweeping operations, and a clear commitment to outcome-based governance," Mr Sirsa said.

"We are not celebrating early. We are simply staying the course and the results are becoming visible more frequently across the year," he added.

According to the Delhi government, citywide operations in the last 24 hours cleared 10,987.21 metric tonnes of garbage and lifted 2,349.7 MT of construction and demolition waste. Over 6,000 km of roads were cleaned, and water sprinkling was carried out over 26.35 km.

Legacy waste removal also continues at landfill sites. A total of 923.55 MT was cleared on July 22 - including 487.55 MT from Bhalaswa and 436 MT from Ghazipur.

While the current figures mark a break from the capital's usual air pollution patterns, long-term impact will depend on sustained cleanup, stricter enforcement, and hotspot monitoring in the weeks ahead.