Delhi

Is Delhi safe?

Delhi is safe enough to visit, but it is not an easy city, and it asks more care than most capitals. Serious crime against tourists is uncommon. The dangers you are most likely to meet are the air, which in winter is among the worst of any major city, the traffic, and, for women, harassment that ranges from staring to groping. Touts and scams at stations and monuments wear down visitors without usually hurting them.

We score Delhi 52 out of 100, below Mumbai and Mexico City, mainly because of the air and the roads. Our India page covers travel beyond the capital.

The air is the biggest health risk

Delhi's annual PM2.5PM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary averaged 91.6 µg/m³ in 2024, according to IQAir, more than 18 times the WHO guideline of 5 and barely changed from 2023. It is the most polluted capital in IQAir's ranking. The averages hide the worst weeks: from late October to February, smoke from crop burning in Punjab and Haryana, Diwali fireworks, traffic and still winter air push daily levels into the hundreds, and schools sometimes close.

For a short trip the risk is mostly to people with asthma, heart or lung disease, pregnant women and small children. If that is you, visit between March and early October. In winter, check an air quality app each morning, wear a well-fitted N95 mask outdoors and keep the windows of your room and car closed. Air purifiers are common in better hotels.

Harassment and night safety

Delhi has the highest recorded rate of crime against women of India's 19 big cities, with 13,396 cases in 2024 according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), including 1,058 rapes. Those figures mostly involve residents, but the UK Foreign Office says foreign women often face verbal and physical harassment in India and that serious sexual attacks on foreign women have been reported.

Practical steps that help:

• Use the women-only coach at the front of every metro train.
• Book Uber, Ola or a hotel car rather than flagging autos at night, and share the trip with someone.
• Dress conservatively, especially in Old Delhi and at religious sites.
• Avoid empty streets, parks and the area around Paharganj late at night, and do not accept food or drinks from strangers; the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary reports spiked food and drinks used to rob travellers.

Murder is not the main concern for visitors. Delhi recorded 504 murders in 2024, roughly 3 per 100,000 on NCRB's population base. Terrorism is a real but rare risk: a car bomb near the Red Fort metro station on 10 November 2025 killed 11 people, according to the National Investigation Agency.

Touts, scams and theft

Delhi registered 180,973 thefts in 2024, about 30% of all thefts in India, although many were vehicle thefts. For visitors, theft means pickpockets at Chandni Chowk, Sarojini Nagar and crowded metro interchanges, and snatch thieves on motorbikes, which the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary also mentions.

The scams are better organised. Men at New Delhi railway station and in Connaught Place tell visitors their ticket is invalid, the station is closed or that they must register at a "tourist office", then steer them to agencies selling overpriced tours. Auto-rickshaw drivers detour to shops that pay commission. Use the foreign tourist booking office inside the station, book trains online and fix auto fares through an app.

Traffic

NCRB counted 1,658 road deaths in Delhi in 2024, more than any other Indian city, and 1,521 of 2,000 negligent driving cases were hit-and-runs. Pedestrians cross multi-lane roads with fast cars, buses and motorbikes that rarely stop, and pavements are often broken or taken over by parking. The metro is the safest way to get around, and app cabs are cheap. Avoid long walks along ring roads and do not drive yourself.

Heat, water and other hazards

From April to June, temperatures regularly pass 45°C. Carry water, plan sightseeing for early morning and evening, and watch for heat exhaustion. The monsoon from late June brings waterlogged streets and dengue, which peaks from August to November. Tap water is not safe to drink. Private hospitals in south Delhi offer good emergency care if you have insurance.

How we scored it

Health and environment (25) is Delhi's weakest factor because of the air. Traffic (40), theft and scams (50) and night safety (55) are all weak, and natural hazards (55) reflects heat and floods. Violent crime (75) is the strongest factor, held below the rubric's 80s by sexual violence and the 2025 bombing.