Fact Check: Viral Claim About Delhi’s AQI Being Recorded 85 For The First Time In 3 Years Is Misleading
The Air Quality Management Commission stated that the AQI reached 85 for the first time in three years from January 1 to March 15. Some users are sharing this information with a misleading claim.
- By: Sharad Prakash Asthana
- Published: Mar 20, 2025 at 02:22 PM
- Updated: Mar 20, 2025 at 03:00 PM
New Delhi (Vishvas News). Delhi’s air pollution often remains high. However, on March 15, 2025, Delhi’s AQI was recorded at 85 (a ‘satisfactory’ level). After this, a post about Delhi’s AQI went viral on social media. It was claimed that for the first time in the last three years, AQI had reached 85 in Delhi.
Vishvas News investigated and found that from January to March 15 in 2023, 2024, and 2025, the AQI was 85 for the first time on March 15 this year, which is a satisfactory level (50–100). In 2023, Delhi’s AQI was less than 50 once. This shows that misleading claims are being made about Delhi’s AQI.
What is in the viral post?
Facebook user ‘Youth Sankalp’ News has shared a poster (archive link) with the caption, “Delhi’s air has become clean, for the first time in three years, Delhi’s air quality has improved.” Along with the poster, it is written,
“AQI recorded at 85….Delhi. If we look at the AQI of the last three years, then in these three years, AQI reached 85 for the first time in Delhi and the air of Delhi became clean and people breathed freely… Due to the clean level of air, Delhiites got a sigh of relief and a decrease in pollution was felt.”
A similar post (archive link) was also shared from the X handle of Delhi BJP.
Investigation
To verify the viral claim, we conducted a Google search using relevant keywords. According to a report published on Dainik Jagran’s website on March 16, quoting ANI, Delhi’s AQI on March 15 was 85—the lowest in the last three years for the period between January 1 and March 15. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) also shared a post on its X handle, which stated that, for the first time this March, Delhi’s AQI fell into the ‘satisfactory’ category, which ranges between 50-100.
This is also available on ANI’s website, where AQI data from the past three years (January 1 to March 15) has been discussed.
This confirms that the media reports refer to AQI data for the three-year period from January 1 to March 15.
According to a Press Information Bureau (PIB) press release issued on March 15, 2025, Delhi’s AQI has significantly improved due to favourable winds, light rain/drizzle, and better meteorological conditions. The AQI was recorded at 85 on that day.
Next, we analysed AQI data for the period from January 1 to March 14 for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality did not fall into the ‘satisfactory’ category on any day during this period in all three years. This means that AQI remained above 100 throughout.
On March 15, 2023, Delhi’s AQI was recorded at 213 (‘poor’ category), while on the same day in 2024, it stood at 127 (‘moderate’ category).
According to a press release issued by PIB on December 31, 2024, the average AQI for March 2023 was 170, while for March 2024, it was 176. In 2024, the AQI remained below 200— falling into the ‘good-moderate’ category for 209 days. Excluding the Covid-affected year 2020, 2024 recorded the highest number of days with ‘good to moderate’ air quality.
According to a PIB press release issued on December 31, 2023, Delhi recorded an AQI of less than 50 (‘Good’ category) on just one day throughout the year, while the AQI remained in the ‘satisfactory’ category for 60 days.
Previously, on January 9, 2022, Delhi had recorded an AQI of 69.
Dainik Jagran’s Delhi correspondent Sanjay, who reported this news, stated that the Air Quality Management Commission had mentioned the AQI reaching 85 within three years from January to March 15. This was the first time since September 29 last year that the AQI had dropped below 100.
Additionally,e we scanned the profile of the Facebook user who shared the misleading claim about AQI and found that the user has 46 followers.
Conclusion: The Air Quality Management Commission stated that the AQI reached 85 for the first time in three years from January 1 to March 15. Some users are sharing this information with a misleading claim.
- Claim Review : Delhi's AQI Being Recorded 85 For The First Time In 3 Years
- Claimed By : Facebook user ‘Youth Sankalp’
- Fact Check : False
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