Byrnihat in Meghalaya topped the list of the most polluted cities in India in 2023, closely followed by Begusarai in Bihar and Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, according to a report released on Wednesday.
Delhi, known for its persistently high air pollution levels during winter, ranked as the eighth most polluted city, the report by independent think tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said.
Sunil Dahia, South Asia's analyst at CREA, said 227 cities with air quality data available for over 75 per cent of the days in 2023 were studied.
Among these cities, 85 were included under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). The data showed that 78 out of the 85 NCAP cities had PM10 levels exceeding the NAAQS (60 microgrammes per cubic metre).
The NCAP, initiated in 2019, aims for a 20-30 per cent reduction in PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2024 in 131 cities that hadn't met prescribed air quality standards from 2011 to 2015.
The government has now set a new target of achieving a 40 percent reduction in particulate matter concentration in these cities by 2026.
"After five years of the NCAP implementation, only 44 cities out of the 131 non-attainment cities have concluded the source apportionment studies," Dahia said.
"Due to the absence of these studies, 64 per cent of the funds allocated under NCAP have been utilised solely for dust mitigation and ineffective solutions like smog guns, resulting in inefficient use of public funds," he added.
The CREA report revealed that only 37 NCAP-covered cities achieved PM10 levels below the annual targets set by the programme. Interestingly, in 2023, 118 cities not yet part of NCAP breached the national air ambient quality standards for PM10.
"This indicates that cities not included in NCAP aren't necessarily cleaner," Dahia emphasised.
Only seven of the 20 most polluted cities in India are currently under NCAP.
Byrnihat, covered under NCAP, registered the highest annual average PM10 concentration at 301 microgrammes per cubic metre, while Silchar in Assam reported the lowest PM10 level at 29 microgrammes per cubic metre in 2023.
Begusarai in Bihar (average annual PM10 level of 265 microgrammes per cubic metre) and Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh (228 microgrammes per cubic metre) secured the second and third positions among the most polluted cities.
Among the top 50 polluted cities, 18 are in Bihar, eight in Haryana, and eight in Rajasthan.
The report highlighted that PM10 concentration in the top 10 polluted cities was notably 3-5 times higher than Indian NAAQS and exceeded WHO limits by 13-20 times.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
For healthy adults, a sore or scratchy throat after a heavy air-pollution day is usually temporary and improves in days with reduced exposure and simple self-care. Here are some easy hacks.
An air purifier removes airborne contaminants, while a humidifier restores moisture. Understanding their distinct roles, and when to use one, both or none, can help you breathe easier and stay healthier through the season.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi and its National Capital Region on Thursday morning remained under the "very poor" category with the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) II norms already in place.
Delhi's much-awaited artificial rain experiment, initially postponed in July continues to be on hold, with no green light yet for the trial that was expected to take place after Diwali.
Existing evidence indicates that long-term exposures to toxic levels of air pollution cause lies in oxidative stress: a condition where free radicals produced by poisons kill cells, proteins, and DNA.
................................ Advertisement ................................
Opinion | Why Indians Have Just Given Up On Air Pollution CrisisTanushree Ganguly
Friday December 20, 2024While some may argue that people in Delhi are now more aware of air pollution than they were a decade back, my rebuttal would be that awareness does not mean that people are concerned.
Opinion | You Must Outrage Over Filthy Air More Than Once A YearJyoti Pande Lavakare
Tuesday December 10, 2024Delhi welcomed us with monsoon rains and mangos. We were home. Fast forward a couple of years, in the winter of 2012, I found myself in denial about something other parents, mostly expats, were calling toxic air.
Opinion | Delhi's Air Pollution Situation Is Like A Bad MarriageNishtha Gautam
Friday November 22, 2024On a good day, such as today, the AQI reading in Delhi is 407. We are jubilant at the sickly sunshine trickling through the slightly dissipated smog. At least its not 1600.
दिवाली... पराली... सियासी जुगाली!Ashwini kumar
Monday November 18, 2024दिल्ली-एनसीआर में प्रदूषण का समाधान तो आज तक मिला नहीं. हर साल चिंतित होकर हम-आप सांसों की तकलीफ के साथ-साथ दिल और ब्लड प्रेशर के मरीज भी क्यों बनें?
घर में कैद बुजुर्ग और हांफते लोग, दिल्ली की सांसों में घुला ये कैसा रोग?Nidhi Kulpati
Friday November 08, 2024हमारी हवा जहरीली हो रही है. गुरुवार की शाम को जब मैं इस मुद्दे पर लिखने बैठी तो AQI लगातार 400 पार जाकर दम घोंट रहा था. बहुत लोगों को यह मामला बोरिंग लगे, लेकिन जब आप अपने साथ काम करने वालों को खांसते-हांफते देखते-सुनते हैं, तो चिंता होने लगती है. सुबह उठते ही दरवाजे खिड़कियां खोलने के लिए डॉक्टर मना कर रहे हैं. बड़े बुजुर्गों के लिए तो मॉर्निंग वॉक बाहर की दुनिया से सीधे संपर्क का ज़रिया है, लेकिन डॉक्टर इसकी भी मनाही कर रहे हैं.