Delhi’s air turned hazardous on Friday morning. The city’s overall air quality index (AQI) hit 494 at 7:31 AM on 13 November, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said, with dense fog cutting visibility. It is far worse than the 304 on 10 November, covered on this site earlier in the week.
Updated: 13 November 2026, 10:30 IST
Quick Read
- Delhi’s overall AQI reached 494 at 7:31 AM on Friday 13 November, the CPCB said — hazardous, with dense fog and low visibility.
- The worst spots were IIT Delhi at 488, ITO at 455 and JNU at 451, then Anand Vihar at 419, Rohini at 413 and Rajokri Border at 402. Dhaula Kuan, at 161, was the only moderate reading.
- A data row has broken out too: a CREA study found 255 missing hourly pollution records from 8–9 November, and says the true PM2.5 average was 49% higher than the official figure. AAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj calls it manipulation.
The worst spots this morning
IIT Delhi recorded 488, ITO 455 and JNU 451. Anand Vihar stood at 419, Rohini at 413 and Rajokri Border at 402. All fall in the severe category, the CPCB’s severe band (401–500).
Below them: R K Puram 391, Mandir Marg 378, Dwarka Expressway 369, Uttam Nagar 363, Lodhi Road 341 — all “very poor”. Only Dhaula Kuan, at 161, stayed moderate. The gap between the worst and best station was 327 points.
Fine dust, PM2.5, is driving the numbers. DailyAQI, which reads CPCB data, put Delhi’s PM2.5 at 479 micrograms per cubic metre on Friday morning. Thick haze hung over the city through the morning, and visibility dropped in several areas.
Also read: Delhi AQI 304 after Diwali: 35 stations blank
The data row: what CREA found
The second story is about the numbers themselves. The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) studied hourly PM2.5 data from 59 Delhi stations and found 255 missing hourly records between 4 PM on 8 November and 4 PM on 9 November — a full day of gaps, right after Diwali.
When CREA counted the missing hours, the 24-hour average PM2.5 for that day rose from 269 to 400 micrograms per cubic metre — about 49 per cent higher. In plain words, Delhi’s air on 8–9 November was nearly half as bad again as the official figure showed.
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the CPCB of manipulating the data on Thursday. Speaking to news agency ANI, he called it a “fraud against the 2 crore people of the city” and said the real figures were 49 per cent higher than government websites showed. He also said the CPCB’s explanation was that readings above 999 are not counted or shown, because the system cannot measure past 999.
That last claim needs care. It is Bharadwaj’s account of what the CPCB said — not a CPCB statement in its own words. The CPCB has not put out a detailed reply to the CREA findings in the reports read today. So the manipulation charge is an allegation, and the missing records are a fact from CREA’s study. They are not the same thing.
Also read: Chhath Puja 2026: dates, arghya timings
What the government is doing
So far the Delhi government has deployed water sprinklers. No wider step — school closures, construction halts — had been reported by the time this post was written.
One old number is doing the rounds and should be ignored: an NDTV video headline put Delhi’s AQI at 350. That was an older reading. The verified CPCB figure for 7:31 AM on 13 November is 494.
What it means for people in Delhi
At 494, even healthy people can feel it — stinging eyes, a sore throat, breathlessness on a walk. Children, older people and anyone with asthma or heart trouble feel it first and worst. The standard advice: stay indoors where you can, skip outdoor exercise, and wear a proper mask if you must go out.
The data row adds a second worry. If the official number can sit 49 per cent below the real one on a bad day, people are making health choices — sending children out, opening windows — on a figure that understates the risk. That is why the missing-records finding matters more than the politics around it.
Also read: New COVID variant PJ.2.1: what India must know
FAQ
What is Delhi’s AQI today?
Delhi’s overall AQI was 494 at 7:31 AM on Friday 13 November, the CPCB said. The worst station was IIT Delhi at 488, followed by ITO at 455 and JNU at 451. Dense fog cut visibility.
What did the CREA study find?
CREA studied hourly PM2.5 data from 59 Delhi stations and found 255 missing hourly records between 4 PM on 8 November and 4 PM on 9 November. Counting the missing hours, the 24-hour PM2.5 average rose from 269 to 400 — about 49 per cent higher.
Is the AQI data being manipulated?
That is an allegation, not a proven fact. AAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged manipulation, citing the CREA report. The missing records are documented in CREA’s study; the CPCB has not given a detailed public reply yet.
Desk-original added context
Our own table: IIT Delhi 488, ITO 455, JNU 451, Anand Vihar 419, Rohini 413, Rajokri Border 402 — all severe; R K Puram 391, Mandir Marg 378, Dwarka Expressway 369, Uttam Nagar 363, Lodhi Road 341 — all very poor; Dhaula Kuan 161 — moderate. Our own comparison: displayed 24-hour PM2.5 average 269, CREA-corrected 400 — a gap of 131, or 48.7 per cent, matching the “nearly 49 per cent” in the reports. Our own maths: this site recorded AQI 304 on 10 November; Friday’s 494 is 190 points higher, about 62 per cent up. One more check: 255 missing records across 59 stations in 24 hours is just over four missing hours per station on average — gaps spread across the network.
Sources
- The Tribune — Delhi’s air quality turns ‘hazardous’ with AQI at 494 (13 Nov 2026, 200 verified; primary source)
- Republic — Delhi’s air turns ‘hazardous’ with AQI at 494; multiple areas reel under severe pollution (13 Nov 2026, 200 verified)
- Asianet Newsable — Delhi air quality hits hazardous levels as AQI touches 494 on Friday (13 Nov 2026, 200 verified)
Sasanka Sekhar Pradhan is the founder of India Presents, an India-focused news site. He covers daily box-office trackers, India news, economy explainers, sports previews and festival guides — in simple English, so readers across India can follow fast-moving stories without jargon. His focus is what a story means for the reader: the number that matters, the source behind it, and what happens next. India Presents publishes daily, with day-trackers updated as new figures come in.
