Light rain lashed New Delhi, NCR and parts of north India on Friday, bringing down temperatures and improving the air’s quality.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded the air quality index (AQI) in the Delhi-NCR region at 297 at 7 am, which is categorised as “poor”, a slight relief from “very poor” and “severe” levels of previous days. On Thursday morning, the AQI was in the “very poor” category at 312.
The temperature in the city was around 16.4 degrees Celsius at 7 am, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Several parts of Jammu also witnessed rainfall, with chilly weather conditions prevailing across the city while Kashmir and higher reaches experienced fresh spells of snowfall.
Parts of Punjab and Haryana witnessed thunderstorms and rain showers on Friday, with the met department predicting rainy conditions over the next few days. The IMD, in its nowcast, said thunderstorms are being accompanied by lightning, moderate rainfall and gusty winds today. The nowcast is valid from 6.25 am to 9.25 am for Punjab and from 6.24 am to 9.24 am for Haryana.
Several parts of the national capital continued to experience poor air quality, however, with Anand Vihar recording an AQI of 317, Ashok Vihar 335, Wazirpur 351, Punjabi Bagh 326, RK Puram 315, Bawana 342, ITO 266, Chandni Chowk 326, and Dwarka Sector 8 at 316, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
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As per AQI classification, a reading between 0 and 50 is ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.
A day earlier, the Sub-Committee on the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) revoked all Stage III actions across Delhi-NCR with immediate effect January 22, in view of the improvement in air quality and forecast trends.
A statement from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change read: “The Sub-Committee had invoked Stage III of GRAP on 16.01.2026, following a deterioration in Delhi's average AQI.”
In view of this improving trend and based on air quality and meteorological forecasts from the IMD and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), the CAQM Sub-Committee met today to review the situation.
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