Delhi to remain warm, air quality in ‘poor’ band

Delhi faces warm weather and persistent poor air quality, expected to last until February 17, 2026.

Delhi continued to experience warmer than usual days even as nights remained relatively cool, with no rainfall recorded across the city, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

According to the IMD, Safdarjung, the city's base station, recorded a maximum temperature of 28.5 degrees Celsius on Sunday (February 15, 2026), 4.1 degrees above normal. Similar conditions prevailed across other parts of the capital, with the Ridge logging 28.8 degrees Celsius, which is 5.7 notches above normal, while Lodi Road and Ayanagar also saw day temperatures more than five degrees above the seasonal average.

The minimum temperature at Safdarjung settled at 10.1 degrees Celsius, slightly below normal, while Ayanagar recorded 9.4 degrees Celsius, 1.5 degrees below the average. Palam was relatively warmer at night at 11.6 degrees Celsius.

Delhi's air quality remained poor on Monday (February 16, 2026) morning, with the average Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 218, in the 'poor' category as per the Sameer app.

The air quality was 'poor' at 25 stations while it was 'moderate ' at 12 stations. As per the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) Sameer app, Shadipur, which recorded an AQI of 308, was the highest amongst all the stations (data for two stations was not available while writing this report).

According to the CPCB, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.