Delhi woke up to thick smog on Saturday 14 November, with the city’s overall air quality index at 348 at 7:05 in the morning. The air is in the “very poor” band. It comes a day after Friday became the first “severe” air day in Delhi in 10 months.
Updated: 14 November 2026, 10:00 IST
Quick Read
- Delhi’s overall AQI was 348 at 7:05 AM on Saturday 14 November, in the “very poor” band, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). 33 of the city’s 58 monitoring stations recorded “severe” air.
- Friday 13 November was worse: the 24-hour average AQI was 403, in the “severe” band, at 9 AM — the first severe day since 19 January, when the AQI was 410. The 4 PM reading on Friday was 373.
- GRAP Stage 3, the government’s stricter anti-pollution plan, has been in force in the Delhi region since 6 November. The forecast says very poor air will stay until 16 November.
What is AQI, in plain words
AQI stands for Air Quality Index. It is one number, from 0 to 500, that tells you how clean or dirty the air is. A low number means clean air. A high number means dirty air. From 301 to 400 the air is called “very poor”. From 401 to 500 it is called “severe”. Saturday’s 348 sits in the very poor band, but many parts of the city were already in the severe band. The two main pollutants are PM10 and PM2.5 — tiny bits of dust and smoke, small enough to go deep into the lungs. Smog hung over India Gate and Kartavya Path on Saturday morning.
Saturday morning, station by station
The worst air on Saturday morning was at North Campus, Delhi University, where the AQI was 421. IIT Delhi recorded 419, ITO recorded 415, and Burari Crossing recorded 410. All four are in the severe band.
Other parts of the city were only a little better. Chandni Chowk recorded 392, JNU recorded 390, Connaught Place recorded 326, and Maidan Garhi recorded 300.
33 of Delhi’s 58 monitoring stations recorded severe air on Saturday, NDTV Profit reported. That is more than half the stations in the city. A monitoring station is a machine that tests the air at one place and sends the reading to the CPCB.
Friday: the first severe day in 10 months
Friday was the worse day. The 24-hour average AQI touched 403 at 9 AM on Friday, which put the whole city in the severe band. It was the first severe day in 10 months. The last one was on 19 January, when the AQI was 410. By 4 PM on Friday, the official reading had eased to 373, back in the very poor band. But some stations stayed far worse through the day. IIT Delhi hit 481 around midday on Friday, close to the top of the severe band.
Vehicles are the biggest single source of Delhi’s dirty air right now. The transport sector added 20.2% of the pollution, as per the Ministry of Earth Sciences. That means about one-fifth of the dirty air came from cars, trucks and buses on the road.
Also read: Delhi AQI 494: hazardous air chokes the capital
Why other apps show a higher number
If you checked a weather app on Saturday morning, you may have seen a number much higher than 348. That does not mean the CPCB figure is wrong. The two numbers come from different hours and different ways of counting. The CPCB figure of 348 is a fixed reading taken at 7:05 AM from its own stations. Live trackers keep updating through the morning, and they read higher as the day goes on. Weather.com showed a live reading above 450, in the hazardous band, on Saturday morning. NDTV Profit showed a live reading of about 485 at around 8:30 AM. This post uses the CPCB’s 348 as the verified figure, because it is the official reading at a fixed time.
One site, urbanacres.in, put the figure at 577. We do not use that number. It comes from a single source we could not check against any other reading, so it stays out of this post.
There is also a dispute over the official numbers. AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj has questioned the CPCB readings, citing a clean-air research group report that says the real figures are 49% higher than what the government site shows. That claim has not been settled.
Also read: Delhi AQI 304 after Diwali: 35 stations blank
What GRAP Stage 3 means for you
GRAP stands for Graded Response Action Plan. It is the government’s step-by-step plan for dirty air. As the air gets worse, the plan moves up a stage, and each stage brings stricter steps to cut dust and smoke. Stage 3 was switched on in the Delhi region on 6 November, and it is still in force. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology expects very poor air to stay until 16 November.
If you can, skip the morning walk and the morning run until the air clears. Keep windows shut in the early morning, when the smog is thickest. Children, older people and anyone with asthma or a heart problem should take the most care.
Today is also Kharna, the second day of Chhath, when devotees fast through the day and gather at ghats in the evening. If you are heading to a ghat, check the air first and keep the time outdoors short.
Also read: Chhath Puja 2026: dates, arghya timings, ghats
FAQ
What is Delhi’s AQI today?
Delhi’s overall AQI was 348 at 7:05 AM on Saturday 14 November, in the “very poor” band, as per the CPCB. 33 of the city’s 58 monitoring stations recorded “severe” air, with North Campus worst at 421.
Was Friday worse than Saturday?
Yes. Friday’s 24-hour average AQI was 403 at 9 AM, in the “severe” band. It was the first severe day in 10 months, since 19 January. Saturday morning is better than Friday, but still very poor.
Why do apps show a different number from the CPCB?
The CPCB figure is a fixed reading at 7:05 AM from its own stations. Live trackers update through the morning and read higher — weather.com showed above 450 and NDTV Profit about 485 on Saturday morning. Different hours and different methods give different numbers.
Desk-original added context
Our own three-day AQI table, from the readings reported this week:
| 13 Nov, 7:31 AM | 494 — hazardous |
| 13 Nov, 4 PM | 373 — very poor |
| 14 Nov, 7:05 AM | 348 — very poor |
Our own worst-stations table for Saturday morning:
| North Campus | 421 — severe |
| IIT Delhi | 419 — severe |
| ITO | 415 — severe |
| Burari Crossing | 410 — severe |
| Chandni Chowk | 392 — very poor |
| JNU | 390 — very poor |
| Connaught Place | 326 — very poor |
Our own maths: Saturday’s 348 is 25 points below Friday’s 4 PM reading of 373, and 146 points below Friday morning’s 494. The air is getting better, but slowly. Friday’s 24-hour average of 403 against Saturday’s 348 is a gap of 55 points. And 33 severe stations out of 58 means more than half the city woke up to severe air, even though the city-wide average stayed in the very poor band.
Sources
- The Hindu — Delhi’s air quality slips into severe category (14 Nov 2026, 200 verified; primary source)
- Asianet Newsable (ANI) — Thick smog engulfs Delhi as air quality stays in very poor category (14 Nov 2026, 200 verified; CPCB 348, worst stations, GRAP 3)
- ABP Live — Delhi AQI today: air quality improves slightly, but remains in ‘very poor’ category (14 Nov 2026, 200 verified; Friday 403 average, first severe day)
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.
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