Only 214 of 406 Indian cities meet air quality standards

Out of 406 cities in India that monitor PM 2.5 pollution, only 214 meet the national air quality standards. This was reported by the Union environment ministry during a session in the Lok Sabha on March 17. PM 2.5 refers to tiny particles in the air that can harm health. The environment minister, Kirti Vardhan Singh, explained that monitoring is done by the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Boards. He mentioned that air quality is monitored in 551 cities. There are plans to expand monitoring stations in an additional 119 cities. The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) set the limit for PM 2.5 at 40 micrograms per cubic meter annually and 60 micrograms for daily exposure. Recent data showed India’s annual PM 2.5 concentration was over ten times the safe limit, at 50.6 micrograms in 2024. This was lower than the previous year's figure of 54.4 micrograms. Byrnihat, located on the Assam-Meghalaya border, had the highest PM 2.5 concentration at 128.2 micrograms. Major cities like New Delhi and Dhaka also had alarming levels, with New Delhi reporting 91.8 micrograms. Experts have urged that the National Clean Air Programme needs to focus more on PM 2.5 because it poses more significant health risks. A study indicated that air pollution contributes to about 33,000 deaths annually in ten major Indian cities, even at levels below the national standards.