By Admin 
About 44 percent of India’s cities are affected by chronic air pollution, indicating that the problem is the result of persistent emissions from emissions sources rather than short-term events. This information has been given in the recent analysis report of Energy and Clean Air Research Center (CREA).
The report says that out of about 44 percent cities that have been facing air pollution for a long time, only four percent come under the purview of the National Clean Air Program (NCAP). CREA assessed the level of PM 2.5 particles in 4,041 cities of India with the help of satellite data.
According to this, ‘at least 1,787 of these 4,041 cities have recorded levels of PM2.5 particles exceeding the national annual standard in every year of the recent five years (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024), excluding the Covid-19-affected year 2020.
This means that about 44 percent of Indian cities are experiencing chronic air pollution, indicating that the problem is the result of persistent emissions from emissions sources rather than short-term events.
The report termed Burnihat (Assam), Delhi and Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) as the three most polluted cities of India based on the estimation of the level of PM2.5 particles in the year 2025, where the annual concentrations were recorded at 100 micrograms per cubic meter, 96 micrograms per cubic meter and 93 micrograms per cubic meter respectively.
Noida-Ghaziabad on which number?
According to this, in the list of most polluted cities, Noida is fourth, Gurugram fifth, Greater Noida sixth, Bhiwadi seventh, Hajipur eighth, Muzaffarnagar ninth and Hapur tenth.
The report said, ‘Despite this, India’s flagship NCAP scheme to curb air pollution covers only four percent of the cities that have been struggling with this problem for a long time. Only 130 cities have been included under NCAP and out of these, only 67 cities are included in the 1,787 cities, which have been failing for many years to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Are.’
More than 400 cities of UP violated the rules
It has been said in the report that among the cities which continuously violate the NAAQS standards, the maximum number of 416 cities are from Uttar Pradesh. It said that 158 cities of Rajasthan, 152 of Gujarat, 143 of Madhya Pradesh, 136 of Punjab, 136 of Bihar and 124 cities of West Bengal have failed to meet the NAAQS standards.
According to the report, 28 out of 130 cities included in NCAP still do not have comprehensive air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS), while 100 out of 102 cities equipped with CAAQMS have recorded PM10 levels of 80% or more.
It says, ‘Progress on curbing PM10 emissions has been mixed. 23 cities have achieved the revised 40% target of reduction in PM10 levels, 28 cities have recorded a reduction of 21-40 per cent, 26 cities have seen a marginal improvement of 1-20 per cent, while in 23 cities PM10 levels have actually increased since the start of the programme.’
Delhi on top on PM 10 emissions
The report said, ‘Delhi tops the list in terms of PM10 particles, where the annual average level has been recorded at 197 micrograms per cubic metre, which is three times the national standard. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida are at second and third position in this matter, where the annual average level of PM10 particles was 190 and 188 micrograms per cubic meter respectively.
It said that among the top 50 cities with highest PM10 concentrations, Rajasthan has the highest number of 18 cities, followed by Uttar Pradesh (10), Madhya Pradesh (5), Bihar (4) and Odisha (4).