Delhi records highest-ever 199 clean air days in 2025
New Delhi: Withnearly three months still remaining in 2025, Delhi has already recorded 199 clean air days, compared to 110 such days in 2016, marking nearly a 100 percent improvement and placing the city on course for its cleanest year yet.
Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa credited this remarkable turnaround to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the effective on-ground execution led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. He said Delhi’s progress reflects an integrated, technology-driven strategy that translates policy into measurable action throughout the year.
“This is not an outcome of chance or weather-it is the result of continuous, coordinated effort,” said Sirsa. “Under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s leadership, Delhihas moved from paper-based promises to technology-based performance. From road dust control to landfill bio-mining, from mechanised sweeping to misting and plantation — work is happening round the clock. When intent is clean and actions are coordinated, results are inevitable.”
Sirsa noted that Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 167, showing improvement from the previous day. He said this progress reflects the city’s daily environmental vigilance, with teams working continuously on dust control, waste management, and vehicular pollution monitoring. “Every clean day in Delhi is earned — through the collective effort of thousands of workers, engineers, and officers operating under a system of accountability. This is governance that delivers, not just promises that sound good,” he added.
Over the past 24 hours, the city has removed 10,729 metric tonnes of garbage and 2,172 metric tonnes of construction and demolition waste. Around 6,414 kilometres of roads were swept, and 1,247 kilometres were sprinkled with 605 kilolitres of water to control dust. The government also issued 12,068 challans for vehicular pollution violations. Meanwhile, bio-mining of legacy waste continued at full pace, with 15,277 metric tonnes processed-6,572 MT at Bhalaswa, 3,970 MT at Okhla, and 4,734 MT at Ghazipur.
Sirsa said the government’s Winter Readiness Plan is already in motion, focusing on controlling road dust, enforcing strict norms at construction sites, ensuring mechanised sweeping, and operating mist sprayers in pollution hotspots. “We are fully prepared for winter with a strong enforcement and monitoring system. Every ward is being tracked, anti-smog guns are functioning across major construction projects, and landfill bio-mining is running in full swing,” he said.
He added that Delhi’s 24x7 Environmental Action Plan, which includes continuous road cleaning, misting, green plantation drives, and hotspot monitoring, has transformed pollution control from a seasonal effort into a year-round mission. “The change is visible, the data is undeniable, and the momentum is unstoppable,” Sirsa said. “Delhi is proving that sustained effort, smart technology, and collective resolve can truly clean the air we breathe.”
