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Journalism of Courage
Most Polluted Indian Cities (2024-25): India ranks as the fifth most polluted country globally and is home to six of the world’s ten most polluted cities, according to the most recent World Air Quality Report by IQAir. Nearly 35 per cent of Indian cities recorded annual PM2.5 levels exceeding the World Health Organisation’s guidelines by more than ten times.
India saw a 7 per cent reduction in PM2.5 concentrations in 2024, with an average of 50.6 µg/m³, down from its third-place ranking the previous year. However, New Delhi continued to experience extreme pollution levels, with an annual average of 91.6 µg/m³—barely changing from 92.7 µg/m³ in 2023—making it the most polluted capital city in the world.
Byrnihat, located on the Assam-Meghalaya border, emerged as the most polluted city globally in 2024, with a staggering annual average PM2.5 concentration of 128.2 μg/m³
According to the report, 13 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in India. Below are the top 10 most polluted cities in the country:
| Rank | City | State/UT | PM2.5 in 2024 |
| 1 | Byrnihat | Meghalaya | 128.2 |
| 2 | Delhi | Delhi (UT) | 108.3 |
| 3 | Mullanpur | Punjab | 102.3 |
| 4 | Faridabad | Haryana | 101.2 |
| 5 | Loni | Uttar Pradesh | 91.7 |
| 6 | New Delhi | Delhi (UT) | 91.6 |
| 7 | Gurugram | Haryana | 87.4 |
| 8 | Ganganagar | Rajasthan | 86.6 |
| 9 | Greater Noida | Uttar Pradesh | 83.5 |
| 10 | Bhiwadi | Rajasthan | 83.1 |
Source: IQAir
Among India’s metropolitan cities, Delhi, unsurprisingly, recorded the highest overall AQI in 2024 at 108.3. Kolkata followed with 45.6, slightly lower than its 2023 figure of 47.8, while Mumbai saw a decline from 43.8 in 2023 to 33.7 in 2024.
In southern cities, Hyderabad’s PM2.5 level dropped to 30.6 in 2024 from 39.9 in 2023. Bengaluru and Chennai also reported declines, with Bengaluru at 30.0 (up from 28.6) and Chennai at 26.0 (down from 28.0).
Air pollution continues to pose a severe public health challenge in India. As of March 2025, air quality in the Delhi-NCR region has worsened, consistently falling into the “poor” or “moderate” categories.
