New Delhi, Oct 6 Even as the capital breathed relatively easier with its monthly average PM2.5 levels below national standards in September, Haryana emerged as a pollution hotspot, housing five of the country’s ten most polluted cities, according to a latest analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
While Delhi recorded a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 38 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³), safely below India’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) limit of 60 µg/m³, neighbouring regions grappled with deteriorating air quality during monsoon’s transition.
As per September data, 230 out of 251 Indian cities with sufficient Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAAQMS) readings exceeded the World Health Organization’s (WHO) stringent daily safe guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Panipat in Haryana clinched the dubious distinction of being India’s most polluted city for the month, registering a staggering monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 78 µg/m³. It breached the daily national standard for 20 out of 29 observation days, recording multiple days in ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ air quality categories.
In total, Haryana dominated the top ten list with five cities — Panipat, Jind, Yamunanagar, Gurgaon, and Manesar — while Uttar Pradesh accounted for two (Khora and Gorakhpur), alongside cities from Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Assam.
In contrast, major metropolitan areas fared moderately well during the month. Among megacities, Kolkata recorded 28 µg/m³, Chennai stood at 27 µg/m³, Bengaluru at 23 µg/m³, and Mumbai emerged as the cleanest with 15 µg/m³.
At the other end of the spectrum, Kohima in Nagaland was India’s cleanest city for September, recording a pristine monthly average PM2.5 level of just 10 µg/m³, closely followed by Leh in Ladakh and Dombivli in Maharashtra.
Environmental experts note that while urban centres like Delhi managed to stay within national compliance limits during the tail-end of the monsoon season, the heavy concentration of particulate pollution in northwestern manufacturing and agrarian belts poses an ominous precursor to the upcoming winter stubble-burning and meteorological inversion season.
(PTI News)
