India, Feb. 28 -- It has been both the warmest and the most polluted February for Delhi in three years, with the absence of active western disturbances keeping conditions unusually warm. The average maximum temperature this month so far stands at 27 degrees Celsius (degC), which was 2.8 degrees above the long-period average (LPA) of 24.2degC for February. This is the highest the average maximum has been since February 2023, when it touched 28.2degC.

Air quality has also deteriorated. The average air quality index (AQI) for the month so far stands at 232 - the highest since it was 237 in 2023. In comparison, the February average AQI was 214 in 2025, 218 in 2024, 225 in 2022, 288 in 2021 and 241 in 2020.

Experts attribute the spike in bot...