Delhi will be one of the best liveable cities in 2.5 years: Manoj Tiwari

The Delhi government will make the Capital one of the best liveable cities in 2.5 years in terms of air quality, said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari on Saturday, adding that the Rekha Gupta-led government has been working for the past 10 months to bring down the pollution levels.

Hailing the Delhi government, he stated that the work done by the Rekha Gupta-led government since the BJP came to power after the February 2025 Assembly poll is more than what the previous government did in five years.

“The BJP has not even completed one year. From the first day, we have been working to reduce pollution. I am an Asthma patient. In the past years, I used to stay outside Delhi for about one-and-a-half months, else my condition used to get very bad,” he told mediapersons.

“We are not claiming big achievements in just 10 months. But the double-engine government is bringing Delhi back on track. During the previous government’s tenure, pollution kept rising, and in the first year itself, we brought the pollution levels down,” he added.

Air quality in red

His comments came amid air quality remaining in the “poor” category, and it is expected to deteriorate into the “very poor” category for the next six days, according to official data.

The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 267 at 4 p.m. on Saturday, a slight surge in pollution from the previous day’s 236, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

“The air quality is likely to be in the very poor category from January 4-6. The outlook for the subsequent six days is likely to be in the very poor category,” said the Central government’s ‘Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi’.

An AQI between 51 and 100 is “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 is termed as “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 450 “severe”, and 451 – 500 “severe plus”, as per the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM).

Yellow warning sounded

Moderate to dense fog is expected to persist over the Capital in the coming days, according to the India Meteorological Department’s forecast, issuing a yellow alert for dense fog on Sunday. The weather office said cold wave conditions are likely to affect isolated places in the city from January 4-7.