Ghaziabad emerges as India’s most polluted city in November; NCR dominates pollution list

Ghaziabad recorded the worst air quality in the country in November, logging a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 224 microgram per cubic metre and failing to meet national air-quality standards on any of the 30 days, according to a new analysis released by the CREA (Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air).

Nine other cities — Noida, Bahadurgarh, Delhi, Hapur, Greater Noida, Baghpat, Sonipat, Meerut and Rohtak — joined Ghaziabad in the list of India’s 10 most polluted urban centres.

Uttar Pradesh accounted for six of the cities on the list, followed by Haryana with three and the national capital. Except Delhi, all other cities in the top 10 recorded higher PM2.5 levels than in November last year, even as regulators and state governments intensified seasonal pollution control measures.

Delhi ranked the fourth most polluted city, with a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 215 microgram per cubic metre — nearly double its October average of 107. The capital experienced 23 “very poor” air-quality days, six “severe” days and one “poor” day, reflecting persistent atmospheric stagnation and accumulation of pollutants.

CREA noted that the influence of stubble burning on Delhi’s pollution was significantly lower this year. Crop-fire emissions contributed an average of 7 per cent to the city’s PM2.5 levels in November, compared with 20 per cent last year.

The peak contribution was 22 per cent, far below the 38 per cent recorded in the previous season. Analysts said the data pointed to the predominance of urban, industrial and transport-related emissions, rather than agricultural fires, in driving Delhi’s air-quality deterioration.

Except for Bahadurgarh, none of the top 10 polluted cities registered even a single day within the daily safe limit under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Several other urban centres — including Charkhi Dadri, Bulandshahr, Jind, Muzaffarnagar, Gurgaon, Khurja, Bhiwani, Karnal, Yamunanagar and Faridabad — also exceeded the benchmark every day of the month.

“Despite a significant reduction in stubble-burning influence, 20 out of 29 NCR cities recorded higher pollution levels than the previous year and many still did not register a single day within NAAQS limits,” said Manoj Kumar, Analyst at CREA. “This clearly indicates that the dominant drivers are year-round sources such as transport, industry, power plants and other combustion sources. Without sector-specific emission cuts, cities will continue to breach standards.”

At the state level, Rajasthan recorded the highest number of polluted cities, with 23 of 34 exceeding the national limit in November. Haryana followed with 22 of 25, while Uttar Pradesh had 14 of 20 cities above the prescribed concentration. High PM2.5 levels were also reported in 9 of 12 cities in Madhya Pradesh, 9 of 14 in Odisha and 7 of 8 in Punjab.

Shillong in Meghalaya was the cleanest city with a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 7 microgram per cubic metre. The list of the 10 cleanest cities included six from Karnataka and one each from Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.