India’s 10 most polluted cities in October all in NCR | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: All of India’s top 10 most polluted cities were from Delhi-National Capital Region in October, according to an analysis by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Delhi was the most polluted city in the country in October with an average PM2.5 concentration of 111 micrograms per cubic meter, followed by Ghaziabad at 110 and Muzaffarnagar at 103. CREA monitored 263 cities in the country, whose continuous ambient air pollution data quality measuring stations were available during 80% of the days of the year.
According to the analysis, Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, Hapur, Noida, Meerut, Charkhi Dadri, Greater Noida, Gurgaon and Bahadurgarh, all NCR cities, were identified as ranking second to tenth. most polluted cities in India. “This alarming ranking persists despite the implementation of the Graduated response action planwhich has been in force since October 15,” CREA said.
“Except for Delhi, all other megacities such as Chennai, Mumbai, Calcutta and Bengaluru have managed to keep PM2.5 levels below the national standard in October,” CREA said.
CREA added that Uttar Pradesh dominated the list of India’s ten most polluted cities for the first time this year, with six cities in the state making it to the list, followed by three from Haryana. All these 10 cities have registered PM2.5 levels much higher than the daily national air quality standard of 60 micrograms per cubic meter and the WHO daily safe guideline of 15 micrograms per cubic meter.
Manoj Kumar, analyst at CREA, said: “According to the Decision Support System for Air Quality Management in Delhi, cross-border sources contributed 60-70% of average PM2.5 pollutants in Delhi in October, while less than 10% came from from crop stubble burning. The elevated PM2.5 concentrations reveal the impact of year-round pollution sources such as transportation, industry and power plants, highlighting the need for comprehensive long-term strategies.”
Besides occupying the top spot in the list of dirtiest cities in the country, Delhi recorded the highest pollution levels in October this year compared to October in the last four years. The monthly average PM2.5 level in October this year was 111 micrograms per cubic meter, compared to 104 in 2023, 105 in 2022, 75 in 2021 and 133 in 2020. Moreover, the average in October this year was 2.5 times higher than in September 43 micrograms per cubic meter. cubic meters.
In October 2024, pollution was in the ‘very poor’ category (121-250 micrograms per cubic meter) on 14 days, in the ‘poor’ category (91-120 micrograms per cubic meter) on four days and in the ‘poor’ category on eight days (91-120 micrograms per cubic meter). ‘moderate’ level. days (61-90 micrograms per cubic meter). The nationally acceptable standard of 60 micrograms per cubic meter was measured in just five days.