Top 10 most polluted cities in India: Delhi ranks first, followed by…

Even before the arrival of winter, north India’s struggle to gasp for clean air has begun as Delhi air quality has degraded to alarming levels over the past few days. Apart from the national capital, many other cities in North India are facing the issue of severely poor air quality.
Here is the list of the top 10 most polluted cities in India, available on www.aqi.in, based on real-time data as of 11 am, October 22.
Based on the realtime data, Delhi ranks top on the list of most polluted cities in the country. The alarming increase in Delhi’s air pollution led to the implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-II) in Delhi-NCR on Monday.
Delhi recorded a daily average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 310 i.e. ‘Very Poor’ category on date, as per the daily AQI Bulletin provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
“As per the dynamic model and forecasts for weather/ meteorological conditions and air quality made available by IMD/IITM, there is a likelihood of the daily average AQI of Delhi staying in the ‘Very Poor’ category (DELHI AQI-3O1-4OO) in the coming days owing to unfavorable meteorological and climatic conditions. Accordingly, the Sub-Committee for operationalization of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) met today to take stock of the air quality scenario of Delhi-NCR,” according to a Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change release.

During the winter, air pollution reaches its peak not just in Delhi, but in many tier II and tier III cities of North Indian states. North and East India remained the most polluted regions during the winter season, reported Down to Earth, citing the Centre for Science and Environment’s comprehensive review.
Smaller cities in Bihar and Rajasthan have emerged as the major pollution hotspots apart from metro cities like Delhi. Cities like Begusarai in Bihar and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan are on par with the pollution levels seen in the national capital, the report added.