Delhi Economic Survey 2025-26: Delhi logs zero farm fires, air quality improves

The number of ‘good’, ‘satisfactory’ and ‘moderate’ air quality days (AQI below 201) rose from 159 in 2018 to 200 in 2025, according to the Economic SurveyEconomic SurveyEconomic Survey 2025–26 tabled in the Delhi assembly on Monday. “With sustained efforts towards air pollution control, the number of ‘good days’ has increased from 159 in 2018 to 200 in 2025,” it said.

The survey noted that while the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space (CREAMS) laboratory at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) detected five farm fire incidents in Delhi during the 2025 paddy harvesting season, field verification found none of these to be cases of stubble burning.

IARI uses satellite imagery to detect farm fires under a 2021 protocol notified by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). “All five burning incidents reported by CREAMS in October and November 2025 within Delhi have been physically verified, and none constituted stubble or paddy residue burning,” the report said.