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Ghaziabad recorded the highest PM10 pollution among 96 NCAP cities in 2025-26.
Delhi and Noida followed closely.
79 cities showed some improvement since 2017-18 and 27 cut PM10 by over 40%.
89 cities breached national limits, underscoring limited progress on clean air goals.
Ghaziabad recorded an average PM10 concentration of 215 µg / m³ in financial year 2025-26, according to a new analysis. This is the highest among the 96 cities under the National Clean Air Programme with sufficient data, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
It was followed by Delhi (201 µg / m³) and Noida (195 µg / m³), all recording PM10 concentrations more than three times the national standard.
2026 was the deadline for NCAP target of PM10 pollution reduction by 40% in cities covered in the programme. Compared with the baseline year of 2017-18, PM10 levels increased in 14 cities and remained unchanged in three, while 79 cities recorded improvements of varying degrees. Of these, 27 cities achieved reductions exceeding 40 per cent.
Dehradun registered the sharpest fall at 75 per cent, whereas Visakhapatnam recorded the largest increase at 73 per cent. Delhi saw a 17 per cent decline over the same period.
However, overall compliance remains poor. Despite improvements, 89 of the 96 cities with adequate monitoring data still exceeded the national PM10 standard in 2025-26, highlighting the limited progress towards cleaner air.
"Our assessment is based exclusively on continuous CAAQMS data, whereas official reports combine both CAAQMS and manual monitoring datasets. Since manual stations typically provide only 104 observations per year compared to the continuous nature of CAAQMS, this methodological difference can lead to discrepancies in reported pollution levels," said Manoj Kumar, analyst, CREA to Down To Earth.
The monthly snapshot for March 2026 also indicates widespread PM 2.5 pollution. While 251 of 268 cities recorded PM2.5 levels below India’s daily standard of 60 µg / m³, only three cities met the World Health Organization’s stricter guideline of 15 µg / m³.
Among NCAP cities, six exceeded India’s daily PM2.5 limit and 94 breached WHO guidelines. In non-NCAP cities, 154 out of 155 exceeded the WHO limit and 25 crossed the national standard.
Gurgaon emerged as India’s most polluted city in terms of PM2.5 concentration in March 2026, with a monthly average of 116 µg / m³. It recorded an average PM10 concentration of 185 µg / m³ for the month.
Other cities in the top 10 included Bahadurgarh, Faridabad, Singrauli, Mandideep, Ghaziabad, Manesar, Bhiwadi, Noida and Nandesari.
Haryana accounted for four of the 10 most polluted cities, followed by two each from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and one each from Rajasthan and Gujarat. Haryana also recorded the highest number of cities exceeding national PM2.5 standards, with nine out of 24 cities above the limit. Uttar Pradesh followed, with eight of 21 cities breaching the standard.
The findings suggested that although some cities have achieved meaningful reductions since the NCAP baseline, most urban centres continue to experience pollution levels above both national and global safety thresholds, indicating the need for stronger, region-specific interventions.