Only 32 Indian Cities Had Clean Air In January, Delhi Recorded The Worst: Study

Delhi was the most polluted city in India in January 2024, with Bhagalpur in Bihar following closely behind, a new study has said.

According to the findings by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, throughout January Delhi recorded a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 206 µg/m³, surpassing the daily National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

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Top ten most polluted cities  

Data showed that among the top ten most polluted cities in India in January, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh had two each while, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi and one.

The top ten most polluted cities in January were Delhi, Bhagalpur, Saharsa, Byrnihat, Greater Noida, Hanumangarh, Noida, Baddi, Sri Ganganagar, and Faridabad.

No clean air day in January 

It said that all the top 10 most polluted cities recorded ambient air quality PM2.5 concentrations exceeding the NAAQS by more than double for at least 25 days, with none reporting even a single day of good or satisfactory air quality.

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Bhagalpur featured in the list the most times (29 days), followed by Delhi (21 days), Saharsa (14 days), Byrnihat, Greater Noida and Chapra (13 days each).

Only 32 cities had clean air

The study found that in January, the monthly average PM2.5 levels in 98 National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) cities surpassed the WHO’s daily guideline for PM2.5. Only 32 cities met India’s daily National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which is 60.

Only 20 out of the 51 cities featured in the daily top 10 most polluted cities list during January 2024 are part of NCAP, while the remaining 31 cities still don’t have any action plan to reduce hazardous air pollution concentrations.

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What caused air pollution in January 

According to the study, a combination of low wind speed and cooler temperatures in northern India led to the formation of stable atmospheric conditions, hindering the rapid dispersion of emissions and resulting in the accumulation of pollutants near the Earth’s surface, thereby elevating ambient air pollution levels. 

“While natural atmospheric conditions are beyond human control, it is the baseline emissions that primarily contribute to the escalation of hazardous air pollution levels in any region,” it added.

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