Most NCR cities breached PM2.5 limits in 2025: assessment by CREA

Delhi’s annual average AQI for 2025 stood at 201, with no ‘Good’ AQI days.

Most cities in NCR breached India’s annual PM2.5 air quality standards in 2025, with Delhi being the most polluted city not only in NCR but among India’s major metros as well, an assessment released on Wednesday by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said.

The assessment is based on CPCB’s continuous ambient air quality monitoring data available until December 30.

Of the 29 NCR cities analysed, only 14 had recorded more than 75% of the PM2.5 data in 2025. The remaining 15 cities with insufficient data coverage were all located in Haryana.

Among the cities with adequate data, Delhi recorded the highest pollution levels, followed by Ghaziabad and Noida. Except for Bharatpur and Alwar in Rajasthan, all other NCR cities exceeded the annual PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Ghaziabad also recorded the highest number of days breaching the daily PM2.5 limit.

Across India’s megacities – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru – Delhi recorded the highest annual PM2.5 levels.

All monitoring stations in Delhi exceeded the annual PM2.5 standard, with concentrations at every station at least 1.8 times the permissible annual limit. Jahangirpuri emerged as the most polluted station in the city.

Despite a decline in the annual average PM2.5 concentration in 2025 compared to 2024, the pollution-season average between October and December rose slightly. PM2.5 levels in April, August and December were also higher than last year.

Delhi’s annual average Air Quality Index (AQI) for 2025 stood at 201, with no ‘Good’ AQI days. The city logged 79 ‘Satisfactory’ days, 121 ‘Moderate’ days, 86 ‘Poor’ days, 71 ‘Very Poor’ days and eight ‘Severe’ days. While ‘Satisfactory’ days increased from 66 in 2024 to 79 in 2025 – largely during June and July – this only led to a marginal decline in the annual average AQI, the assessment said.