Delhi Second Most Polluted City In The First Half Of 2025. Who's At Number One?
Delhi ranks as the second most polluted city in India for early 2025, with Byrnihat leading. CREA reports 88% of cities exceed WHO PM2.5 standards.
Delhi has been ranked the second most polluted city in India for the first half of 2025, according to a new analysis released by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). The capital recorded an average PM2.5 concentration of 87 µg/m³, far exceeding both national and international air quality standards.
But topping the list is a lesser-known town — Byrnihat, located on the Assam–Meghalaya border, which emerged as India's most polluted city during this period. With an alarming average PM2.5 level of 133 µg/m³, Byrnihat spent most of its days in the 'Very Poor' air category and did not record a single 'Good' air quality day.
The half-yearly report, based on data from 293 cities with Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS), paints a grim picture. While 122 cities exceeded India's annual PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 40 µg/m³, every single one of the 239 cities with sufficient data surpassed the World Health Organization's (WHO) limit of 5 µg/m³.
The report also introduces the concept of 'overshoot day" — the date by which a city's pollution levels ensure that it will violate annual air quality limits, even if emissions were drastically cut for the rest of the year. Delhi breached the WHO standard by January 10, and crossed the Indian NAAQS by June 5, locking in non-compliance for the full year.
Despite recent policy efforts like vehicle bans on older cars, CREA analysts warn that targeting vehicles or dust alone is insufficient. Research from IIT Delhi and the PRANA portal shows a broad spread of contributors to Delhi's PM2.5 levels: Transport (17%–28%), Dust (17%–38%), Industrial sources and power plants (22%–30%), Residential combustion (8%–10%) and Agricultural burning (4%–7%).
'Addressing the air quality crisis in any Indian city requires a multi-sectoral approach. Fragmented or seasonal measures are not enough," said Manoj Kumar, an analyst at CREA. 'Urgent steps are needed to update national standards, expand the NCAP's coverage to gaseous pollutants, and enforce pollution controls across all major sources."
The report also highlights other cities in the top 10 most polluted list: Hajipur, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Sasaram, Patna, Talcher, Rourkela, and Rajgir. Bihar alone accounts for four of these cities, followed by Odisha with two. The findings reflect a widespread air pollution crisis, not confined to Delhi or northern India.
With over 88% of cities overshooting the WHO annual PM2.5 standard by June, CREA's findings underline the urgent need for updated regulations, broader enforcement, and sustained multi-sector action to safeguard public health.
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July 11, 2025, 15:06 IST
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