The verdict, weather removed
On its own count the pipeline puts the observed year at -6.7 points; with the weather removed it is +3.8 points worse, on the model's count across 27 of 27 stations. 5 of 6 pollutants show no real improvement.
Against yesterday: the one-day move
From 94 to 89. The 95 per cent interval runs -12.2 to 1.4 points, on 41 matched stations, so the honest reading is level, not better.
Against last year: the observed reading
Today 89 across 41 stations. The year is judged on the 33 matched stations: 91 today against 98, the mean of the same date ±7 days of 2025 at those stations. The interval runs -16.8 to 5 points, so it leans better, but the interval spans zero and no claim is made.
The worst station in the city today
Poor, on PM10. Last year this station read 127 on the ±7-day mean around this date; the change is 133 points. Within 500 m of the monitor, 84% of the land is built up and 14% is under vegetation, so this reading describes a densely built neighbourhood.
The year, from its best days to its worst
On the same 227 dates the best tenth of days reads 83 against 75, and the worst tenth 303 against 301. Each is unchanged inside its margin, and the days at or below 200 went from 148 to 149.
How much of the city was above AQI 200
That is 13.3 of 43.1 reporting stations, against 32 per cent over the same dates last year, a change of +0.5 points on an interval of -3.3 to +4.2, so it is unchanged inside its margin.
Who the monitoring network reaches
Within 4 km live 88 per cent of Delhi's people, within 2 km 41 per cent, and within 500 m only 3.3 per cent. India's own rules ask for about 46 particulate monitors, because IS 5182 scales the count to population, and Delhi has 44. So the count test passes, while 29 of the 44 zones still stretch past 4 km, which is as far as a monitor is held to speak.
What each monitor's reading speaks for
That is 6.5 per cent of Delhi, living around the 1 monitor that read Poor or worse. Anand Vihar was worst at 260, and 1,363,291 people live within 4 km of it. On the wider count, 46 per cent live within 4 km of a monitor at Moderate or worse.