3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 9, 2026 11:06 AM IST
Successive spells of rain in the NCR over the past two days led to a sharp improvement in the air quality in Delhi and Noida, with both recording its cleanest air since September last year.
At 59, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was in the ‘Satisfactory’ category on Wednesday — the lowest since September 4, 2025, when it stood at 58 (‘Satisfactory’).
Noida also breathed its cleanest air in 10 months as the AQI Wednesday improved to 42 (‘Good’) from 118 (‘Moderate’) a day before — the last low of 40 being recorded on September 2, last year. The AQI in Gurgaon improved from 208 (‘Poor’) on Tuesday to 128 (‘Moderate’) Wednesday.
So far in July, Delhi has recorded ‘Satisfactory’ air quality (AQI 51-100) on three days, while it was ‘Moderate’ (AQI 101-200) on the rest of the days. June had three days with ‘Satisfactory’ AQI, with the monthly average AQI standing at 141.
Above-normal rain
The Ridge weather station in Delhi recorded 54.3 mm of rainfall during the past 24 hours, taking July’s figure so far to 79.1 mm — about 154 per cent above normal for the period. Ayanagar recorded 51 mm of rainfall so far this month, around 45 per cent above its long-period normal of 35.1 mm. Gurgaon, meanwhile, recorded 83 mm of rainfall till Wednesday morning.
Delhi’s base station at Safdarjung has recorded 31.52 mm of rainfall so far in July against the city’s normal for the entire month of 209.7 mm, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The weather department has issued a yellow alert for the city for Thursday.
The rain also brought a sharp drop in temperatures. At Safdarjung, the maximum temperature settled at 30.8 degree Celsius, 5.8 degrees below normal and 6.4 notches below Tuesday’s reading. The minimum temperature stood at 25.4 degrees, 4.6 degrees lower than Tuesday.
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Noida registered a maximum of 30.8 degree Celsius and a minimum of 25.5 degrees — both below the season’s normal. Maximum temperatures fell by 9.4 degree Celsius in Gurgaon, while the minimum dipped by up to 4.8 degrees.
According to the IMD, the widespread rainfall has been driven by a well-marked low-pressure area over northwest Madhya Pradesh and southwest Uttar Pradesh, along with favourable conditions for the further advance of the southwest monsoon.
The weather office has forecast generally cloudy skies with more spells of light rain and thunderstorms for Thursday.
