‘Second dirtiest December day on record,’ says Congress MP as Delhi AQI touche ...
Delhi AQI today: The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi touched the 500 mark in Rohini and Wazirpur, placing these areas in the “severe” category. Among the 40 key active monitoring stations in the national capital, the lowest AQI recorded was 365, which still falls under the “very poor” category.‘NAAQS needs to be updated, ruthlessly enforced’
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh has issued a statement on the pollution crisis in the national capital, saying that the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), last notified in November 2009, need to be updated and “ruthlessly enforced”.
He added, “The present standard for PM2.5 is 8 times the WHO guideline for annual exposure and 4 times the guideline for 24-hour exposure. Despite the launch of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2017, PM2.5 levels have continued to rise, and every single Indian lives in areas where these levels far exceed the WHO guidelines. NCAP itself needs an overhaul.”
The Congress MP also said that Graded Response Action Plans (GRAPs) measures should not be the sole focus, and that the government must also act to manage the damage that has already been done. “We need tough multi-sectoral actions with scale and speed around the year and not just in the winter October-December months,” the statement added.
Ramesh also urged the government to revisit the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, enacted in 1981, noting that a public health emergency was not the backdrop when the law was framed.
He also said that the National Green Tribunal needs a fresh and renewed lease of life. “India simply cannot afford to pollute its way to prosperity. Increased pollution need not and must not be the price the people of the country are compelled to pay for faster growth,” he further expressed.
The Congress MP also pointed out that the government had stated in the Rajya Sabha that “there is no conclusive data available in the country to establish a direct correlation of death or disease exclusively due to air pollution”, calling the remark a sign of “shocking insensitivity”.
Here is our statement on the grave air pollution crisis facing the country pic.twitter.com/tbsOs1HVli
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 15, 2025 ‘Second dirtiest December day on record’
As the air quality in the national capital continues to worsen, Congress MP Manickam Tagore said that he had moved an Adjournment Motion in the Lok Sabha and demanded an urgent discussion on Delhi’s air pollution crisis.
ALSO READDelhi Weather Today: Residents wake up to dense fog as visibility drops to near zero; share videos
“Second dirtiest December air day on record. AQI at 461, maxing out at 500 in multiple stations,” Tagore wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Second dirtiest December air day on record.
AQI at 461, maxing out at 500 in multiple stations.
I have moved an Adjournment Motion in the Lok Sabha demanding an urgent discussion on Delhi’s air pollution crisis.#DelhiPollution https://t.co/kciAS81QmX
— Manickam Tagore .B🇮🇳மாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) December 15, 2025 ALSO READIndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet issue advisories as AQI crosses 450, visibility drops
Delhi AQI at 9 am today
StationIndex ValueAir QualityAnand Vihar493SevereAshok Vihar499SevereAya Nagar406SevereBawana466SevereBurari Crossing456SevereCRRI Mathura Road434SevereChandni Chowk437SevereDTU479SevereDr Karni Singh Shooting Range460SevereDwarka-Sector 8462SevereIGI Airport382Very PoorIHBAS, Dilshad Garden466SevereIIT Delhi, Delhi 403SevereITO465SevereJahangirpuri498SevereJLN Stadium460SevereLodhi Road (IITM)414SevereLodhi Road (IMD)422SevereMajor Dhyan Chand National Stadium450SevereMandir Marg413SevereMundka440SevereNSIT Dwarka384Very PoorNajafgarh407SevereNarela465SevereNehru Nagar483SevereNorth Campus473SevereOkhla Phase-2477SeverePatparganj476SeverePunjabi Bagh481SeverePusa (DPCC)437SeverePusa (IMD)448SevereR K Puram477SevereRohini500SevereShadipur365Very PoorSirifort484SevereSonia Vihar463SevereSri Aurobindo Marg417SevereVivek Vihar493SevereWazirpur500Severe</p>
Pages:
[1]