Delhi-NCR is turning dry as the rains ease, with air quality holding in the moderate category for now — and the capital has just logged its cleanest September in five years. The environment ministry said Delhi’s average AQI for September 2026 was 102, below the 105 recorded in 2025 and 2024, 108 in 2023 and 104 in 2022.

The longer trend is encouraging too. Delhi recorded 194 days with AQI below 200 in the first nine months of 2026, the highest such count in five years, suggesting the improvement is not a one-month blip. On Wednesday, the city’s AQI stood at 129, in the moderate band, even as stubble-burning cases were recorded across six states.

There are caveats. A Centre for Science and Environment report found only one ‘Good’ air day in the entire 92-day monsoon season, and the withdrawal of rain typically lets pollutants accumulate. With winter approaching, authorities are watching farm fires and local emissions closely.

For now, though, the numbers mark a genuine improvement — the kind Delhi has rarely been able to claim in recent years.