CHANDIGARH: Gurugram has been ranked the most polluted city in the country for March 2026. Haryana accounted for four of India’s top ten most polluted cities: Faridabad, Manesar, Bahadurgarh and Gurugram, as per the report of Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). It further noted that Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh remained the most polluted city overall for the entire 2025-26 financial year.
Data further showed that nine of Haryana’s 24 monitored cities exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Gurugram recorded a monthly average PM2.5 level of 116 µg/m³. The millennium city consistently reported elevated PM10 concentrations, largely attributed to construction activity and road dust.
"Other cities in the top 10 polluted list for March include Bahadurgarh, Faridabad, Singrauli, Mandideep, Ghaziabad, Manesar, Bhiwadi, Noida, and Nandesari. Haryana accounted for four of India’s top 10 most polluted cities, followed by two cities each from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and one each from Rajasthan and Gujarat. Haryana had the highest number of cities exceeding NAAQS, with nine out of 24 recording PM2.5 higher than NAAQS, followed by Uttar Pradesh with eight out of 21 cities exceeding NAAQS," it read.
In 2025, both Gurugram and Faridabad frequently figured among India’s most polluted cities. Earlier trends indicated that while Faridabad often recorded higher PM2.5 levels, The findings come against the backdrop of persistently poor air quality in the region.
Ghaziabad recorded the highest annual average PM10 concentration (FY 25-26) at 215 µg/m³, followed by Delhi (201 µg/m³), and Noida (195 µg/m³), all of the numbers being over three times higher than the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 60 µg/m³.
The report noted that in March 2026, 220 out of 251 cities with >80 per cent CAAQMS data reported PM2.5 levels below India’s daily national standard of 60 µg/m³. However, only three cities met the World Health Organization’s (WHO) stricter daily safe limit of 15 µg/m³.
Among NCAP cities, seven of the 96 cities with sufficient data exceeded India’s daily PM2.5 standards, and 94 of 96 cities breached the WHO guidelines. Among 155 non-NCAP cities, 154 exceeded the WHO’s daily limit, and 25 crossed the national standard.
Dehradun recorded the highest reduction in PM10 levels — about 75 per cent compared to the 2017-18 baseline — while Delhi saw a modest 17 per cent decline.
Manoj Kumar, analyst at CREA, said, "Many cities are still far from meeting the revised NCAP targets, and some have even seen rising pollution levels, which is a serious concern. As the programme moves into its next phase, there is an opportunity to base interventions on robust, science-based solutions, with funding directed towards the major pollution sources identified in each region."
He added, "In recent years, more cities have slipped into non-attainment status, which means that revising NCAP to include emerging hotspots, adopting a regional approach, and enforcing stricter emission standards will all be essential."
When benchmarked against the NCAP baseline year (2017–18), PM10 levels increased in 14 cities and remained unchanged in three. The remaining 79 cities showed improvements.
Among the cities showing improvement, nine cities in Uttar Pradesh recorded reductions of over 40% in PM10 levels compared to the NCAP baseline year (2017–18).
Similar reductions were also reported in three cities in Maharashtra and two cities each in West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Rajasthan, and one city each in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Assam.
States with the most cities showing an increase in PM10 levels included Odisha with five cities, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh with each two cities. Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu each had one city with an increase in concentration with reference to the baseline year, it added.