The national convenor of Aam Aadmi Party, Arvind Kejriwal, took a jibe at Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta over her contentious remark comparing the Air Quality Index to temperature. Kejriwal questioned the scientific validity of Gupta's statement, asking, "When did this new science come?
The former Delhi CM's criticism comes after Gupta's remarks at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2025, where she appeared to justify spraying water at AQI monitoring sites in pollution hotspots.
Allegations of AQI data manipulation
Kejriwal explained that the remark by Gupta actually "admits" that water is indeed being sprayed at AQI monitors to maintain artificially low readings. He tweeted on X-
“First point - The Chief Minister has at least accepted that wherever AQI monitors are installed, water spraying is being done there so that the truth about pollution doesn't reach the people of Delhi. In other words, a game is underway to hide the data and show "clean air.”
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He further mocked Gupta's statement by questioning the logic behind equating AQI to temperature.
“Second point - When did this new science come about that AQI has now become temperature?”
Videos of water being sprayed near the monitoring stations in several areas have been circulated on social media, stoking the controversy about transparency in measuring pollution levels.
Rising pollution in Delhi
The air quality in Delhi continues to be within the ‘very poor’ category as the AQI persisted above 300. The 24-hour average AQI was 314 at 4 PM on Monday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board, whereas it was 308 at the same time on Sunday. As per forecasts, pollution may further deteriorate in the coming days, even entering into the ‘very poor to severe’ category.
CM Gupta explains measures to control rising AQI
During the summit, Gupta was asked about opposition claims that water was being sprayed at air monitoring sites. Hotspots, she said in defence of the practice, are areas where maximum pollution occurs and need intervention.
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“Tell me, what is a hotspot? A hotspot is an area with the highest pollution levels. Right? What's the solution? You spray there; you water it. You work to improve the soil. So, you'll spray only on the hotspot," she said.
"Does using a monitor bring down the AQI? AQI is like a temperature which you can know from any instrument, so watering it is the only solution which we are also doing", she added.
