GURUGRAM: Air quality moved into the poor category on Sunday, November 8, 2026, when Gurugram recorded an AQI of 288 in the Central Pollution Control Board's 4 pm IST bulletin, down from 345 a day earlier. The new daily reading updates the very poor conditions as reported earlier on dalimss.news. It covers the preceding 24 hours and does not describe the air after the later Diwali night celebrations.

For households in Sector 51 and across the city, the important distinction is between a city summary and the air at an individual monitoring location. CPCB lists four participating stations out of four for Gurugram. Its bulletin does not give a separate Sector 51 reading, and the city figure cannot be assigned to that sector or any other neighbourhood.

Gurugram improves, Manesar stays unchanged

The November 8 official bulletin identifies PM2.5 as Gurugram's prominent pollutant. The previous day's bulletin also identifies PM2.5, with the same four of four stations participating. The comparison therefore shows a change in the published city index with unchanged station participation, rather than an apparent improvement caused by fewer stations reporting.

Gurugram's index declined by 57 points between the two daily bulletins. Saturday's 345 was in the very poor band; Sunday's 288 was in the poor band. These are index points, rather than a measurement of PM2.5 concentration in micrograms per cubic metre. The bulletin does not supply a city PM2.5 concentration alongside the index, so the two measures should not be treated as interchangeable.

Manesar recorded 279 on Sunday, exactly the same index as in Saturday's 4 pm bulletin. It remained in the poor category, with PM2.5 identified as the prominent pollutant. One station participated out of one listed. The unchanged figure is a useful qualification to the wider improvement: the movement in Gurugram was not reproduced in every nearby monitoring entry.

Panchgaon improved from 377 on Saturday to 333 on Sunday, a reduction of 44 points. It nevertheless remained very poor. Both bulletins identify PM2.5 as its prominent pollutant and show participation by one station out of one. Panchgaon's Sunday index was 45 points above Gurugram's and 54 above Manesar's, underlining the different conditions represented within the district's published entries.

  • Bulletin time: Sunday, November 8, 2026, 4 pm IST.
  • Gurugram: 288, poor, four of four stations.
  • Manesar: 279, poor, one of one station.
  • Panchgaon: 333, very poor, one of one station.
  • Prominent pollutant in all three entries: PM2.5.

What the category change means

CPCB places index values from 201 to 300 in the poor category and values from 301 to 400 in very poor. Its accompanying health statement associates poor air with breathing discomfort for most people on prolonged exposure. For very poor air, it lists respiratory illness on prolonged exposure. The new category is an improvement in the reported daily conditions, while still carrying the board's stated health concern.

The same official scale places moderate air at 101 to 200, satisfactory at 51 to 100 and good at zero to 50. Gurugram's Sunday value remained above all three of those bands. A fall below 301 therefore should not be described as a return to satisfactory conditions. Panchgaon's 333 also remained below the severe band, which the board defines as 401 to 500.

The November 7 bulletin provides the comparison used here. Readers following the district's earlier deterioration can also consult the report on Panchgaon's November 5 severe reading and the background on Gurugram and Manesar's November 4 bulletin. Those reports concern earlier observation periods and do not replace Sunday's figures.

Read the time stamp before comparing readings

CPCB describes the figures as an average of the past 24 hours. Its notes also explain that, where a city has multiple monitoring locations, an average is used for simplicity even though air quality varies across locations. The board cautions that averaging is not a scientifically sound approach and directs readers to monitoring location information for individual station AQI.

That limitation matters when comparing the four station Gurugram entry with the single station Manesar and Panchgaon entries. Each is a published reporting unit with its own participation count. None establishes a reading for every street, society, workplace or school nearby. Nor does the Sunday afternoon bulletin establish the highest pollution level reached later that evening.

The verified change is confined to the two comparable 4 pm daily bulletins: Gurugram moved down one category, Manesar was unchanged, and Panchgaon improved within very poor. A subsequent bulletin or a separately time stamped official station observation will be needed to establish conditions after the festival night.