India, Jan. 22 -- The first three weeks of the year have seen one of the worst pollution spells recorded in Gurugram, with air quality remaining in the "very poor" category for 13 days, making it the worst opening stretch in the past four years, according to official data.

Data from the Central Pollution Control Board's Sameer App showed that the average air quality index (AQI) in Gurugram between January 1 and 21 stood at 318. This marks a sharp rise from an average AQI of 210 during the same period in 2025. In 2024, the average AQI for the first three weeks of January was 235, in 2023, it was 282, while it stood at 281 in 2022 and 251 in 2021. The last time air quality approached similar levels early in the year was in 2019, when the a...