CREA Report: Thiruvananthapuram Stands Second in India’s Cities With Best Air Quality

New Delhi: Ghaziabad, part of the Delhi National Capital Region, is the most polluted city in India. According to data released by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), all of the top ten most polluted cities are located in North India.

In November, Ghaziabad recorded a shocking PM2.5 concentration of 224 micrograms per cubic meter. The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) limits were violated every single day in the city. Noida, Bahadurgarh, Delhi, Hapur, Greater Noida, Baghpat, Sonipat, Meerut, and Rohtak ranked from second to tenth. Six of these cities are in Uttar Pradesh, and three are in Haryana. Shillong in Meghalaya ranked as the cleanest city (7 micrograms).

Meanwhile, among major capital cities with the best air quality, Thiruvananthapuram stands second. The first place goes to Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram (9 micrograms per cubic meter). Thiruvananthapuram’s PM2.5 concentration is only 27 micrograms per cubic meter—far below the NAAQS limit of 64 micrograms.

Not a single South Indian city appeared in the list of India’s ten most polluted cities. Among the cleanest cities, six were from Karnataka, while Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala each had one city represented. At the state level, Rajasthan has the largest number of heavily polluted cities—23 out of 34 are far above NAAQS limits. Haryana (22), Uttar Pradesh (14), and Madhya Pradesh (9) follow close behind.