CAQM Reviews Supreme Court-Mandated Expert Report at 27th Meeting

At its 27th Full Commission meeting held on 20.02.2026, the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) considered a report prepared by a panel of 33 domain experts pursuant to directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in W.P. (C) No. 1135/2020. The meta-analysis of source apportionment studies (2015-2025) identifies PM2.5 as the dominant pollutant impacting AQI in Delhi and highlights the influence of both local emissions and the transboundary effect of regional movement of pollution across the airshed.

The Report of Experts from IITs, academia, research institutes, NGOs and other reputed institutes indicates that during winter months, major contributors to PM2.5 include Secondary Particulates transformed from gaseous emissions from Transport, Industries, Power Plants, Biomass Burning, etc., Transport (23%), Biomass Burning (20%), Dust (15%) and Industry including Thermal Power Plants (9%). Further, during summer months, Dust (27%) emerges as the dominant contributor, followed by Transport (19%), Secondary Particulates (17%), Industry (14%) and Biomass Burning (12%). Public suggestions received on the Report are under consideration.

At the meeting, the Commission also approved strengthening of the CAAQMS network based on grid-based spatial coverage, urban contiguity, land use, secondary particulates (transformed from gaseous emissions from Transport, Industries, Power Plants, Biomass Burning, etc.) and population density criteria. A total of 46 additional stations are to be established, i.e. 14 in Delhi, 16 in Haryana, 01 in Rajasthan and 15 in Uttar Pradesh. With this augmentation, the total number of CAAQMS in Delhi-NCR would increase to 157, thereby enhancing monitoring density and improving assessment of regional pollutants and baseline air quality levels.(UPDATED ON 20TH FEB 2026)