Delhi was ranked the sixth most polluted city in the country in October 2025, behind neighbouring Ghaziabad and Noida. This ranking was revealed in the monthly air quality report released by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) on Tuesday. According to the report, Dharuhera in Haryana was the most polluted city in the country in October, with a monthly average level of PM 2.5 at 123 micrograms per cubic meter.
The findings reveal a sharp deterioration in air quality across the country, worsening the situation, an official statement said. This impact was particularly pronounced in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP), especially the National Capital Region (NCR). According to the report, the average PM 2.5 level in Delhi in October was recorded at 107 micrograms per cubic meter, nearly three times higher than the September average of 36 micrograms per cubic meter. This made Delhi the sixth most polluted city in the country.
Stubble burning contributed less than six percent to Delhi’s PM 2.5 levels in October. Despite this, this sharp increase in air pollution indicates that the main causes of pollution remain active year-round. This clearly shows that seasonal and short-term measures, such as the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), are not sufficient. Long-term and structural mitigation strategies are needed to address the situation.
According to the study, Dharuhera in Haryana was the most polluted city in the country in October, with a monthly average PM 2.5 level of 123 micrograms per cubic meter recorded. This level was above the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) on 77 percent of the days in the month. During the month, the air quality was recorded in the ‘severe’ category for two days and in the ‘very poor’ category for nine days. After Dharuhera, Rohtak, Ghaziabad, Noida, Ballabhgarh, Delhi, Bhiwadi, Greater Noida, Hapur and Gurugram were among the most polluted cities respectively.
4 cities of UP also included in the top-10
Overall, the list of top 10 polluted cities includes four cities each from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, all of which are part of the NCR region. Meanwhile, Shillong in Meghalaya was the cleanest city in the country in October, with an average PM 2.5 level of 10 micrograms per cubic meter. The top 10 list of cleanest cities included four cities from Karnataka, three from Tamil Nadu, and one each from Meghalaya, Sikkim, and Chhattisgarh.
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