On the day Delhi recorded what Congress MP Manickam Tagore described as its “second dirtiest December day”, football icon Lionel Messi arrived in the national capital for the final leg of his GOAT India Tour, following stops in Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. Messi’s event was held at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium. When Delhi CM Rekha Gupta entered the stadium to share the stage with Messi, something unexpected happened.

Messi fans present there chanted “AQI, AQI” in unison after welcoming Messi, videos of which are all over social media. 

Watch the video below:

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi unit chief, Saurabh Bharadwaj, reacted to the video of the crowd shouting “AQI, AQI” as “severe” pollution levels gripped the national capital.

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“International shame. Crowd for Messi shouts ‘AQI, AQI’ as soon as Delhi CM Rekha Gupta arrives,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 

“I was there at the stadium this morning. The air was definitely not good… the impact of smog was visible even in video recordings on phone cameras,” a business professional, Vibhor, told The Indian Express. 

He said that the stadium turned to chanting “AQI, AQI’ when the Delhi CM entered. “It was an impromptu action, to be honest,” Vibhor added. He was present at the stadium a couple of hours before the gates opened at 11 am.

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AQI in Delhi today

The AQI in Delhi today has improved a bit, falling in the “poor” category from earlier “severe”. Out of 40 monitoring stations, 11 continued to record “severe” AQI levels, while 27 areas fell in the “very poor” category. Only two stations reported “poor” air quality. This improvement comes a day after Delhi’s average AQI stood at 427 on Monday, the third consecutive day the national capital remained in the “severe” category.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi AQI stood at 373 as of 10 am today, placing it in the “poor” category.