Delhiites face persistent, year-round air quality challenges with no immediate timeline for consistently meeting national standards. While 2025 saw a record 79 days with "Good" or "Satisfactory" air, hazardous conditions continue in winter. Long-term efforts like the National Clean Air Programme target a 40% reduction in particulate matter by 2026, but reaching consistent compliance remains a long-term goal.

Delhiites face persistent, year-round air quality challenges with no immediate timeline for consistently meeting national standards. While 2025 saw a record 79 days with "Good" or "Satisfactory" air, hazardous conditions continue in winter. Long-term efforts like the National Clean Air Programme target a 40% reduction in particulate matter by 2026, but reaching consistent compliance remains a long-term goal. 

Key Factors and Future Outlook:
Current Status: -
In 2025, Delhi recorded zero "good" air quality days, with the air quality often falling into poor, severe, or hazardous categories, especially in winter.
Winter Crisis: -
Air quality drastically worsens between October and February due to stubble burning, low wind speeds, and temperature inversion.
Improvement Efforts: -
Ongoing measures include stricter emission controls for industries, banning older vehicles, and deploying water sprinklers, though these have not yet brought permanent, year-round clean air.
Long-Term View: -
Officials have suggested that achieving clean air in a city like Delhi could take several decades, similar to the experience of other global cities. 
Therefore, while incremental improvements are occurring, meeting the National Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) consistently throughout the year is expected to take many years, with 2026 acting as a key intermediate target for emission reductions. 

‘Even London took nearly 45 years to achieve clean air’ |
   Water sprinklers have been deployed across Delhi. The real time and old data of air quality is available and data was missing for a maximum of five minutes. 

MJF Lion ER YK Sharma 

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