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Delhi AQI: According to a study, Delhi was the sixth most polluted city in India in October, coming after nearby Ghaziabad and Noida. The report said that Dharuhera in Haryana was the most polluted city that month, with an average PM2.5 level of 123 micrograms per cubic metre, as per the Monthly Air Quality Snapshot released by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), as per news agency PTI, on Tuesday. The study gave a detailed look at India’s air quality using data from continuous air monitoring stations. It found that air quality worsened sharply across the country, especially in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) — with the worst pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR), the statement said. Delhi ranked sixth with an average concentration of 107 g/m, three times higher than its September average of 36 g/m. Also Read: 'Took Boys to Toilet, Touched Private Parts': Odisha Engineer Arrested for Sexually Assaulting 9 Students Despite stubble burning contributing less than 6 per cent of Delhi's PM2.5 levels in October, the sharp rise highlights the impact of year-round emission sources and the need for long-term mitigation plans beyond short seasonal measures like the Graded Response Action Plan, it noted. Dharuhera was ranked as the most polluted city in October, with a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 123 g/m, breaching the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) limit on 77 per cent of the days. It recorded two ‘Severe' and nine ‘Very Poor' days during the month. Following Dharuhera, the next most polluted cities were Rohtak, Ghaziabad, Noida, Ballabgarh, Delhi, Bhiwadi, Greater Noida, Hapur, and Gurgaon. Overall, four cities, each from Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana dominated the top 10 list, all located within the NCR. Cleanest City in October of India Shillong, Meghalaya, was India's cleanest city in October with an average PM2.5 concentration of 10 g/m. The top 10 cleanest cities included four from Karnataka, three from Tamil Nadu, and one each from Meghalaya, Sikkim, and Chhattisgarh. Out of 249 cities, 212 recorded PM2.5 levels below India's NAAQS of 60 g/m. However, only six cities met the World Health Organization's (WHO) daily safe guideline of 15 g/m. In October, cities with ‘Good' air quality dropped from 179 in September to 68, while those in the ‘Satisfactory' range increased from 52 to 144. Cities in the ‘Moderate' range rose from 4 to 27, while nine cities fell into the ‘Poor' category and one city reached the ‘Very Poor'. (With Agency Inputs) Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Delhi and around the world.
