An air-quality snapshot from NDTV Profit put Delhi’s index at 341 on Nov. 3, a level that falls in India’s “Very Poor” band only if the figure uses the national index.
NDTV Profit’s six-city list included Kolkata at 173, Mumbai at 143, Chennai at 134, Bengaluru at 115 and Hyderabad at 69. The outlet did not identify the index or data provider, give collection times, or say whether the numbers represented city averages or individual monitor readings.
Under the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) National Air Quality Index, readings from 301 to 400 are “Very Poor,” while 401 to 500 are “Severe.” Applying CPCB’s categories conditionally, the figures for Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru would be “Moderate,” a range of 101 to 200; Hyderabad’s 69 would be “Satisfactory.” CPCB warns that extended time in Very Poor conditions may bring respiratory illness, with people who have lung or heart disease potentially more affected.
At 7:30 a.m. ET (12:30 UTC) Nov. 3, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology’s Delhi Air Quality Early Warning System showed a reading of 341 among station-level results. Its display did not say which station recorded the number.
The Times of India reported that Delhi’s overall AQI reached 451 at 9:30 p.m. ET Nov. 2 (02:30 UTC Nov. 3), corresponding to 8 a.m. in Delhi on Nov. 3, citing CPCB data. On CPCB’s scale, 451 is in the “Severe” band. The board says readings vary across Delhi-NCR monitoring locations and its regional measure averages multiple locations, so the reported citywide figure has a different stated basis from IITM’s station result.
An IQAir page showed Kolkata at 173 at 4 a.m. ET (09:00 UTC) Nov. 3 using its AQI⁺ measure. The matching number does not show whether NDTV Profit used IQAir’s data or recorded its figure at the same time.
