Half of monitored Indian cities breached air quality standards in January 2026: CREA

According to the January 2026 Monthly Air Quality Snapshot by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), nearly half (123 out of 248) of Indian cities with more than 80 per cent data coverage from continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) recorded monthly average PM2.5 concentrations above India’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of 60 μg/m³. Not a single city complied with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) daily safe guideline of 15 μg/m³.

Among National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) cities, air quality remained widely non-compliant. Of the 97 NCAP cities with sufficient data, 46 exceeded India’s daily NAAQS for PM2.5, while all 97 breached the WHO guideline. A similar pattern was observed among non-NCAP cities: all 151 non-NCAP cities with adequate data recorded PM2.5 levels above the WHO guideline, and 77 cities exceeded India’s standard, a statement by CREA said.  

Worst performers

Ghaziabad in western Uttar Pradesh ranked as the most polluted city in India in January 2026, recording a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 184 μg/m³ and breaching the daily NAAQS on every day of the month. The city experienced 24 ‘Very Poor’ days, four ‘Severe’ days, two ‘Poor’ days, and one ‘Moderate’day.

The national capital ranked as the second most polluted city, with a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 169 μg/m³. During January, Delhi recorded 24 ‘Very Poor’ days, three ‘Severe’ days, two ‘Poor’ days, and two ‘Moderate’ days.

Noida, Gurgaon, Greater Noida, Dharuhera, Gangtok, Singrauli, Bhiwadi, and Narnaul completed the list of the ten most polluted cities.

Uttar Pradesh and Haryana accounted for three cities each in the top ten, followed by one city each from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Sikkim along with Delhi.

At the state level, Rajasthan recorded the highest number of cities exceeding the PM2.5 NAAQS, with 23 of 34 cities breaching the standard in January. Haryana followed with 19 of 25 cities exceeding the limit. Bihar (15 of 24 cities), Odisha (13 of 15 cities), and Uttar Pradesh (13 of 20 cities) also saw widespread exceedances.

Across India, air quality categories remained skewed toward unhealthy levels. In January 2026, 21 cities fell in the ‘Good’ category and 103 in the ‘Satisfactory’ category. A further 92 cities were classified as ‘Moderate’, while 21 cities recorded ‘Poor’ air quality and 11 cities fell in the ‘Very Poor’ category.

Damoh in Madhya Pradesh was the cleanest city in India in January 2026, with a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 17 μg/m³. The ten cleanest cities included five from Karnataka and one each from Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Nagaland, and Punjab.

Among India’s megacities, Delhi (169 μg/m³) and Kolkata (92 μg/m³) exceeded the NAAQS in January 2026, while Chennai (49 μg/m³), Mumbai (48 μg/m³), and Bengaluru (44 μg/m³) recorded monthly average PM2.5 concentrations below the national standard.

‘To mitigate this recurring and year-long pollution, the revision of the NCAP presents a key opportunity to strengthen India’s air quality management. This revision must focus on prioritising PM2.5 and its precursor gases (SO2 and NO2) over PM10, revising the list of non-attainment cities, setting stricter emission standards for industries and power plants, and adopting an airshed-based approach to address air pollution at a regional scale,” said Manoj Kumar, India Analyst, CREA.