October 23, 2025: ‘Very poor’ air for Delhi police headquarters

The Delhi Police is tasked with enforcing restrictions on firecrackers. But it faces questions after the air pollution peak observed after Diwali. Last year, Newslaundry had reported how firecracker violations were allegedly treated with kid gloves.

So for this episode of Aaj Ka AQI, we visited the Delhi Police headquarters. 

At the nearest monitoring centre in Mandir Marg, the AQI was pegged at 310, or in the ‘very poor’ category. The air quality was worse in other parts of the capital, as suggested by the monitoring stations at Anand Vihar (428), Ashok Vihar (344), Bawana (349), Chandni Chowk (323), ITO (343), Patparganj (351), Rohini (337), Vivek Vihar (358), and Wazirpur (357).

After the pollution surge, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had claimed in a press conference that the city’s air quality had improved compared to previous years. However, AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj disputed the claim, accusing the BJP government of manipulating pollution data.

Watch. 

This show is part of a collaborative campaign to tackle air pollution. Here’s how you can join the Fight To Breathe. Click here to power this campaign. 

Perhaps the festive season is making us sentimental or it’s all the firecracker smoke in our eyes, but we’re proud of the community we’ve built. And we want you to be a part of it. Click here to get a whopping discount on a joint subscription.