Delhi failed WHO air limits from January to mid-June
Delhi's air was pretty rough this year, according to a new study; the city failed to meet World Health Organization (WHO) air quality limits on nearly every single day from January to mid-June.
PM2.5 and PM10 particles were above safe levels over 99% of the time, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) wasn't far behind at 83.4%.
Basically, breathing clean air in Delhi has become a rare event.
PM2.5 and PM10 showed little improvement
Even though NO2 dropped by 9.4% and ozone fell by 20%, the really harmful particles (PM2.5 and PM10) barely budged.
In fact, PM10 stayed more than twice the national safety standard.
The report points out that winter was especially bad, with Anand Vihar hitting an extreme PM2.5 level of 876 micrograms per cubic meter in January.
Experts say tackling pollution hotspots and tightening emission rules are urgent steps if Delhi wants cleaner air year-round.