Dharuhera tops list of India’s most polluted cities in October 2025: CREA report

New Delhi: India witnessed a sharp spike in air pollution in October 2025, with the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and the National Capital Region (NCR) bearing the brunt, according to the October 2025 Monthly Air Quality Snapshot released by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

The report, based on Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAAQMS) data, reveals that Dharuhera in Haryana emerged as the country’s most polluted city, recording a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 123 μg/m³, more than double India’s National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) limit of 60 μg/m³.

The city breached this limit on 77% of the days, logging two ‘Severe’ and nine ‘Very Poor’ air quality days during the month.

Following Dharuhera, the next most polluted cities were Rohtak, Ghaziabad, Noida, Ballabgarh, Delhi, Bhiwadi, Greater Noida, Hapur, and Gurgaon, all within the NCR region. Four cities each from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh featured in the top 10 most polluted list.

Delhi, ranked sixth, recorded an average PM2.5 concentration of 107 μg/m³, nearly three times higher than its September average of 36 μg/m³.

Interestingly, stubble burning contributed less than 6% to Delhi’s PM2.5 levels in October, underscoring the dominance of year-round urban and industrial emissions.

CREA noted that this pattern highlights the need for long-term air quality management strategies rather than short-term seasonal interventions like the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

‘Winter and festive periods don’t create India’s pollution problem, they expose it. These seasonal spikes merely amplify baseline pollution levels that remain dangerously high throughout the year. This predictable surge is substantially preventable if we prioritize sector-specific emission cuts with clear accountability mechanisms. Instead, policy responses remain reactive and seasonal, failing to address the year-round sources driving this crisis,’ said Manoj Kumar, Analyst at CREA.

On the other end of the spectrum, Shillong, Meghalaya, was India’s cleanest city in October, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 10 μg/m³. The list of the 10 cleanest cities featured four from Karnataka, three from Tamil Nadu, and one each from Meghalaya, Sikkim, and Chhattisgarh.

Out of 249 cities with adequate data coverage (over 80% of days monitored), 212 cities recorded PM2.5 levels below the NAAQS limit of 60 μg/m³. However, only six cities met the World Health Organization’s daily safe guideline of 15 μg/m³.

The report also noted a significant deterioration in overall air quality nationwide. The number of cities with ‘Good’ air quality (0–30 μg/m³) fell sharply from 179 in September to 68 in October, while those in the ‘Satisfactory’ range (31–60 μg/m³) rose from 52 to 144.

Cities in the ‘Moderate’ range (61–90 μg/m³) increased from 4 to 27, with nine cities slipping into the ‘Poor’ (91–120 μg/m³) category and one city entering the ‘Very Poor’ (121–250 μg/m³) range.

CREA attributed this shift toward higher pollution levels primarily to the Indo-Gangetic Plain, where meteorological conditions and dense emission sources combined to drive a regional pollution surge across NCR and adjoining states.

Key highlights
● Compliance: In October 2025, 212 out of 249 cities with more than 80% of the days with continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) data available, recorded PM2.5 concentrations below Indiaʼs National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of 60 μg/m3. Six cities complied with the World Health Organizationʼs (WHO) daily safe guideline concentration of 15 μg/m3.

○ NCAP cities: The monthly average PM2.5 levels in all 98 National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) cities with more than 80% of days with data surpassed the WHO’s daily guideline for PM2.5, while 86 cities met India’s daily NAAQS.

○ Non-NCAP cities: Among the 151 non-NCAP cities with over 80% of days with CAAQMS data, 145 cities reported monthly average PM2.5 levels above the WHO daily guideline. 126 cities adhered to the daily NAAQS.

○ The number of cities exceeding daily WHO standards rose to 243 in October, up from 203 in September.

● AQI category: In October 2025, the number of cities with ʻGoodʼ (0-30 μg/m3) air quality dropped to 68 from 179 in September. The number of cities with ʻSatisfactoryʼ (31-60 μg/m3) air quality increased from 52 to 144. Additionally, 27 cities experienced ʻModerateʼ (61-90 μg/m3) air quality in October, compared to just four cities in September.

There were nine cities in the Poorʼ (91-120 μg/m3) category and one city in the ʻVery Poorʼ (121-250 μg/m3) category. This shift of cities into the moderate category was widespread across the Indo-Gangetic Plain, particularly in and around the National Capital Region (NCR).