NEW DELHI: High-polluting cities such as Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Nashik and Kota recorded improvement in terms of reducing PM10 to an extent, but their levels remain quite far from the acceptable limit, as per data released by Union environment ministry.
Delhi reduced the level of PM10 from 241 g/m3 in 2017-18 to 208 g/m3 in 2023-24 (nearly 14% decline) but the city continues to be highly polluting by recording pollutant levels by more than three times of the national standards.
Under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) launched in 2019, the ministry planned to reduce PM10 levels by 40% by 2025-26 from the baseline year 2017-18. Overall, 95 out of 131 polluting cities have shown improvement by reducing levels of PM10 in varying percentages although just 18 have so far reached the acceptable limit of this critical pollutant.
PM10 is small enough to enter the lungs through breathing causing serious health hazards. Data on improvement in air quality in these cities was shared by the ministry at a function to observe ‘International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies’ in Jaipur on Sept 7, where Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav awarded nine cities in three different categories for better implementation of different actions for mitigating air pollution under NCAP.
Surat, Jabalpur and Agra were awarded for being top three cities in million-plus population category, whereas Firozabad, Amravati and Jhansi received the award in category of 3-10 lakh of population, and Raebareli, Nalgonda and Nalagarh in the category of less than three lakh of population.
Except for Nalgonda in Telangana, none of these cities, however, figured in the list of 18 which met national standards for clean air. The cities were awarded under ‘Swachh Vayu Survekshan’ 2024 on the basis of different mitigation measures where the weightage of improving PM10 levels is merely 2.5% in this annual survey.
Delhi reduced the level of PM10 from 241 g/m3 in 2017-18 to 208 g/m3 in 2023-24 (nearly 14% decline) but the city continues to be highly polluting by recording pollutant levels by more than three times of the national standards.
Under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) launched in 2019, the ministry planned to reduce PM10 levels by 40% by 2025-26 from the baseline year 2017-18. Overall, 95 out of 131 polluting cities have shown improvement by reducing levels of PM10 in varying percentages although just 18 have so far reached the acceptable limit of this critical pollutant.
PM10 is small enough to enter the lungs through breathing causing serious health hazards. Data on improvement in air quality in these cities was shared by the ministry at a function to observe ‘International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies’ in Jaipur on Sept 7, where Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav awarded nine cities in three different categories for better implementation of different actions for mitigating air pollution under NCAP.
Surat, Jabalpur and Agra were awarded for being top three cities in million-plus population category, whereas Firozabad, Amravati and Jhansi received the award in category of 3-10 lakh of population, and Raebareli, Nalgonda and Nalagarh in the category of less than three lakh of population.
Except for Nalgonda in Telangana, none of these cities, however, figured in the list of 18 which met national standards for clean air. The cities were awarded under ‘Swachh Vayu Survekshan’ 2024 on the basis of different mitigation measures where the weightage of improving PM10 levels is merely 2.5% in this annual survey.