Mid-Year Air Quality Assessment For India: CREA
The mid-year air quality assessment for India by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), covering the period from January to June 2024, provides a comprehensive overview of the nation’s air pollution levels.
- This report highlights the severity and distribution of air pollution across Indian cities, emphasising the importance of stringent measures to combat this environmental crisis.
Highlights of the Reports:
- Byrnihat, located on the Assam-Meghalaya border, emerged as the most polluted city in India, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 140 µg/m³(Micrograms per Cubic Metre).
- Among India’s top 10 polluted cities, three were in Haryana, two each in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, and one each in Delhi, Assam, and Bihar.
- Delhi ranked as the 3rd most polluted city, with PM2.5 levels at 102 µg/m³, exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
- Out of 256 cities monitored, 163 exceeded the annual NAAQS (40 µg/m³), while all exceeded the WHO standard (5 µg/m³).
- Among the 97 National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) cities, 63 exceeded the NAAQS.
- Only 63 out of 163 cities exceeding the NAAQS are part of the NCAP, leaving 100 cities without action plans to reduce air pollution.
- The top 10 most polluted cities were spread across 16 states and union territories, indicating the widespread nature of air pollution in India.
- Six new Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) were added, increasing the total to 545.
- Karnataka and Maharashtra had the highest number of cities under the “Good” and “Satisfactory” categories, while Bihar had the most cities in the “Moderate” category.
