Health & Safety

CAQM logged 84 farm fires in Punjab in one early-October day, 30 confirmed. Here’s how that compares with last year and what it means for Delhi’s AQI.

A plain-English guide to temperature inversions: how a layer of warm air traps pollution near the ground, when it happens, and how to plan around it.

Delhi’s September 2026 AQI averaged 102, a five-year low, yet a separate analysis shows the year so far is worse. Here’s how both can be true and what to expect in October.

A plain-English guide to smog masks: why a sealed N95-type respirator beats cloth and surgical masks, how to check the fit, and when to wear one.

India’s 2026 monsoon ended 13% below normal and IMD expects a dry, warm October. Here’s what that could mean for smog season, in plain language.

What SO2 is, how it affects your lungs, how it becomes PM2.5, and why India is debating scrubbers on coal power plants after the 2025 rule change.

WMO’s September 2026 bulletin says wildfire smoke and heat-driven ozone are undoing clean-air progress. Here’s what it means and how to protect yourself.

A plain-English look at how India’s air quality stations measure pollution, where low-cost sensors fit in, and why readings differ across a city.

Indonesia’s ISPU and India’s AQI use different tiers, so ‘Moderate’ and ‘Unhealthy’ don’t mean the same thing. Here’s how to translate haze readings between the two scales.

CAQM’s Statutory Direction No. 98 sets a uniform 50 mg/Nm³ particulate emission limit for Delhi-NCR industries, fully in force from October 1, 2026. Here’s who it covers and why it matters.

Farm fires are up about fivefold in Madhya Pradesh and have tripled in Rajasthan, while Punjab, Haryana and UP decline. Here’s what the Centre’s mission-mode push means for winter air.

Minnesota’s air quality alert on October 10 wasn’t about smoke. Dry soil and strong gusts lifted coarse PM10 dust. Here’s how it works and what to do.

Should you run, cycle or walk on a smoggy day? What the research says, an AQI-by-AQI exercise guide, and simple ways to keep moving safely through India’s pollution season.

PM2.5 particles slip past your nose and throat into your lungs and bloodstream. Here’s what they do, how India’s limits compare with WHO’s, and how to protect yourself.

Satellite data shows Madhya Pradesh logging 118 crop fires against Punjab’s 88 so far this season. Here’s what the numbers mean and how to read them.

What nitrogen dioxide is, where it comes from, how WHO and India’s limits differ, and simple ways to cut your exposure.

What nitrogen dioxide is, why it’s highest near busy roads, how WHO, India and EU limits compare, and simple ways to cut your NO2 exposure.

True HEPA, CADR and filter costs explained simply, plus what air purifiers can’t do, so you can pick the right one before smog season.

Your AQI can jump after sunset even when nothing changed. Here’s how temperature inversions, evening traffic and cooking stack up, and how to plan around it.

IMD says the 2026 southwest monsoon will begin withdrawing from Rajasthan around September 19 – two days late – with a 15% nationwide rainfall deficit.