India · Delhi · 7 cities
Air quality in Delhi today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Narela has the cleanest air of the 7 cities we track in Delhi (AQI 155, Unhealthy), and Najafgarh the worst (AQI 199, Unhealthy). Delhi Cantonment has the most tree cover, at 61.9% — #21 of 470 cities measured in India.
Every city is measured the same way, over the same 2 km around its center: the air quality right now, from ground stations where there are any, and its tree cover.
Average right now
AQI 179
Unhealthy
- cities tracked
- 7
- average tree cover
- 29.5%
- India: 27.3%
- worst air now: Najafgarh
- 199
- cleanest air now: Narela
- 155
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous, and it reads differently from India's AQI (CPCB). Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Delhi · average AQI 179
Air quality today across Delhi, city by city
| New Delhi | 181Unhealthy | 56.6% | — | #27 of 470 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Najafgarh | 199Unhealthy | 9.4% | 96.1K | #448 of 470 |
| Narela | 155Unhealthy | 18.1% | 68.8K | #338 of 470 |
| Kirāri Sulemānnagar | 179Unhealthy | 11.0% | 90.7K | #436 of 470 |
| Bhālswa Jahangirpur | 178Unhealthy | 13.1% | 81.3K | #406 of 470 |
| Deoli | 174Unhealthy | 36.5% | 11.0K | #100 of 470 |
| Delhi Cantonment | 187Unhealthy | 61.9% | — | #21 of 470 |
Air quality is the US AQI from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where available, otherwise the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, refreshed hourly. Tree cover is measured within 2 km of each city center from Sentinel-2 imagery; the rank compares every city measured in India.
Is this the same as India's AQI (CPCB)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) publishes the National Air Quality Index on its own scale: 0–50 good, 51–100 satisfactory, 101–200 moderate, 201–300 poor, 301–400 very poor and 401–500 severe. The two scales don't line up. At moderate fine-particle levels the US scale reads higher: 55 µg/m³ of PM2.5 is 149 on the US AQI but about 92, "satisfactory", on India's. In heavy smog India's reads higher: 100 µg/m³ is 182 on the US AQI and about 232, "poor", on India's. CPCB also averages particles over 24 hours, so its figure moves more slowly than an hourly reading.
India's AQI (CPCB) and the AQI, explainedDeforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Delhi lost?
Since 2001, Delhi has lost about 11 hectares of forest (about 16 football pitches): 4.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (68%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 11 haabout 16 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 8 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
The worst year was 2008, when about 3 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Delhi?
- Towns and roadscleared for good61% · 7 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good7.9% · under 1 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown30% · 3 ha
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. How it's measured
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