Dust Storm Engulfs Delhi, Air Quality Crosses Dangerous Mark
Apart from this, the situation is also worrying in the surrounding cities of Uttar Pradesh, like Meerut, Ghaziabad and Noida.
Published : May 15, 2025 at 5:03 PM IST
New Delhi: The Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) has been in the grip of a dust storm since Thursday morning, worsening the air quality.
According to IQAir, a Switzerland-based organisation which monitors pollution based on PM 2.5, Delhi has become the most polluted city in the country at present, as the highest Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded on Thursday was 2444, which comes in the hazardous category.
Apart from this, the situation is also worrying in the surrounding cities of Uttar Pradesh, like Meerut (675), Ghaziabad (341) and Noida (314).
Amid the worrying trend, a layer of dust engulfed the entire Delhi NCR region, due to which visibility remained low, with people facing difficulty in breathing.
Status of AQI in Delhi areas
The AQI for the inner areas of Delhi is also alarming. However, the situation is relatively better in some areas, such as Greater Kailash's AQI is 78 (moderate), 28 Block-C's AQI is 121 (satisfactory), and Oak Drive's AQI is in the 130 (moderate) category. At the same time, the pollution level has reached very dangerous levels in many other areas, including II Airport 199 (bad), US Embassy 224 (very bad), ITO 262 (very bad), Ferozshah Road 336 (very bad) and Patparganj 351 (severe) AQI.
Health threat from pollution
Environmentalist Dr Jitendra Nagar says that such a high AQI level can prove to be dangerous, especially for children, the elderly and asthma patients.
“Long-term exposure to pollution can also hurt the functioning of the lungs, heart and brain,” he said. “Symptoms such as irritation in the eyes, difficulty in breathing and fatigue are becoming common problems,” he added.
Delhi’s AQI has never been so high in May.
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) May 15, 2025
CPCB’s own data shows that from 2022-2024, AQI on May 15 never exceeded 243.
Today AQI is at 500
Will BJP take responsibility for the worsening air pollution in Delhi? Where is Delhi’s Environment Minister @mssirsa? pic.twitter.com/ZacqYTLFYM
AQI Scales
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) classifies the air quality in the Delhi-NCR under four different groups:
Stage 1: ‘poor’ (AQI 201-300)
Stage 2: ‘very poor’ (AQI 301-400)
Stage 3: ‘severe’ (AQI 401-450)
Stage 4: ‘severe plus’ (AQI above 450).
However, IQAir, a Swiss company, follows the US-based AQI scale developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. This AQI scale has no upper level. On this scale, any pollution level over an AQI of 500 is considered ‘hazardous’ to human health.
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