Delhi sixth most polluted city in country in October, Ghaziabad at third spot, Noida fourth: Report

Dharuhera in Haryana was ranked as the most polluted city last month, with a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 123 µg/m³, breaching the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) limit on 77% of the days. It recorded two ‘Severe’ and nine ‘Very Poor’ days during the month.

Following Dharuhera, the next most polluted cities were Rohtak, Ghaziabad, Noida, Ballabgarh, Delhi, Bhiwadi, Greater Noida, Hapur, and Gurgaon. Four cities each from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana dominated the top 10 list, all located within the National Capital Region (NCR).

The CERA report provided a comprehensive analysis of India’s air quality based on continuous ambient air quality monitoring station (CAAQMS) data.

The findings revealed a sharp deterioration in air quality across the country, with worsening conditions concentrated in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), particularly the NCR, the report said.

In October, cities with ‘Good’ AQI (0–30 µg/m³) dropped to 68 from 179 in September, while those in the ‘Satisfactory’ category (31–60 µg/m³) increased from 52 to 144. Cities in the ‘Moderate’ category (61–90 µg/m³) rose from 4 to 27, while nine cities fell in the ‘Poor’ (91–120 µg/m³) category and one city in ‘Very Poor’ (121–250 µg/m³) category.

With the exception of Delhi, all other megacities, such as Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru, saw their monthly averages in October falling within the NAAQS limit. Out of 249 cities, 212 recorded PM2.5 levels below India’s NAAQS limit of 60 µg/m³.

Shillong in Meghalaya was the cleanest city in India in October, recording a monthly average PM2.5 of 10 µg/m³. The 10 cleanest cities comprised four cities from Karnataka, three from Tamil Nadu, and one each from Meghalaya, Sikkim and Chhattisgarh.

Manoj Kumar, an analyst at CREA, said, ‘Winter and festive seasons don’t result in pollution in India but the seasonal spikes amplify the baseline pollution levels that remain dangerously high throughout the year. This predictable surge is substantially preventable if we prioritise sector-specific emission cuts with clear accountability mechanisms.”

“Instead, policy responses remain reactive and seasonal, failing to address the year-round sources driving this crisis,” he added.

Delhi witnessed a slight improvement in air quality on Tuesday, slipping into the “poor” category with an overall AQI of 291, mainly due to improved wind conditions, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. On Monday, the AQI was recorded in the “very poor” category with a reading of 309.

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the AQI of 291 recorded on November 4 is the best for this date in the last seven years.

Since Diwali, the city’s AQI has been hovering in between “poor” and “very poor” categories, while slipping to “severe” on some days.