A 10-year evaluation of air pollution across India’s metropolitan hubs has revealed not a single major Indian city recorded “good” air quality even once between 2015 and November 2025.
A 10-year evaluation of air pollution across India’s metropolitan hubs has revealed not a single major Indian city recorded “good” air quality even once between 2015 and November 2025. The comprehensive report by environmental research organisation Climate Trends, dissected long-term pollution trajectories across 11 major cities. Delhi, unsurprisingly registered itself as the nation’s most chronically polluted city, with average AQI levels surging past 250 in 2016 and lingering near 180 this year. Even with marginal improvements post-2019, the national capital never inched close to healthy air.
Vehicular fumes, industrial discharge, and seasonal crop burning remained the primary reasons – all magnified by the region’s geography.
According to TOI report, cities like Lucknow, Varanasi, and Ahmedabad, infamous for AQI readings regularly topping 200 in the earlier half of the decade, showed mild recovery later. Meanwhile, traditionally “cleaner” southern and western metros — Mumbai, Chennai, Pune and Bengaluru did relatively better but still failed to breach safe zones. Bengaluru, with AQI levels hovering between 65 and 90, posted the lowest readings nationally yet outside the “good” category.
AQI rankings are marked on concentrations of hazardous particulate matter — PM2.5 or PM10 — whichever measure is higher.
Pollution spells in the northern plains are long-lived, shaped heavily by geography and winter weather. “With cold north-westerly winds sweeping into the plains, minimum temperatures are set to drop further — making it even harder for pollutants to disperse,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president at Skymet Weather.
He further noted that this year’s weak western disturbances — the extratropical storm systems that typically shower the northwest with rain and snow failed to deliver. “Without rain to wash pollutants out of the atmosphere, the pollution lingers for longer periods, leading to early and persistent smog-like conditions,” Palawat said.
Cold-season temperature inversion across the Indo-Gangetic belt worsens the crisis by trapping pollutants close to the ground. The dense urban maze of skyscrapers and narrow lanes further slows wind movement, deepening the stagnation.
Experts warn that India’s battle against toxic air demands smarter strategies and credible datasets. “Technology can help address many local pollution sources within your own airshed, but this requires reliable data,” said Prof S N Tripathi of IIT-Kanpur. Palak Balyan, research lead at Climate Trends, stressed the need for governance, saying, “What India needs is sustained, long-term, science-based policy reform backed by genuine political will to take tough decisions.”