New Delhi 

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday apologised for the toxic air in the national capital and said it is "impossible" for any elected government to reduce AQI (air quality index) in just 9-10 months.

Delhi-NCR is grappling with deteriorating air quality, with severe smog and AQI hovering between poor and severe, raising serious health concerns for the region's residents.

Addressing a press conference, Minister Sirsa accused the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of being responsible for Delhi's pollution and said that the current BJP government is working to fix it.

"It is impossible for any elected government to reduce AQI in 9-10 months. I apologise for the pollution in Delhi. We are doing better work than the dishonest AAP government, and we have reduced AQI each day. This disease of pollution is given to us by the Aam Aadmi Party, and we are working to fix it," Sirsa said during the press conference.

According to the data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index in the national capital stood at 354 at 4 pm on Tuesday, categorised as 'very poor.'

In the morning at 8 am, the city's overall AQI was 378, placing it in the 'very poor' category, as per the CPCB.

The air quality showed a marginal improvement compared to Monday, when the AQI had touched 427 at around 4 pm, falling in the 'severe' category.

Despite the slight dip, pollution levels remained dangerously high across large parts of the national capital and a dense blanket of toxic smog enveloped the city, severely reducing visibility and causing discomfort to residents on Tuesday morning.

The first meeting of the Expert Committee constituted by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for in NCR and adjoining Areas to address air pollution from vehicular emissions was held on Monday under the Chairmanship of Ashok Jhunjhunwala and Co-Chaired by Prof Randeep Guleria.

The meeting focused on broad discussions on key issues related to vehicular emission sources in Delhi-NCR, CAQM said in a post on X.

Union Environment Minister @byadavbjp chairs High-Level Review of Air Pollution Action Plans of Ghaziabad and Noida, as part of Series of upcoming Review Meetings for Delhi-NCR

💠This was the first review under a series of review meetings on City-specific action plans in NCR,… pic.twitter.com/pTil3Qshee

— PIB India (@PIB_India) December 15, 2025

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The committee will present concrete, actionable recommendations to reduce vehicular emissions at upcoming meetings.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has already invoked all measures under Stage-IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR in view of the rising air pollution.