From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, March 7: Byrnihat in Meghalaya remained the second-most polluted place in the country after Delhi this winter.
Delhi remained the most polluted city in the country this winter with average PM2.5 concentration throughout this period was 159 micrograms per cubic metre, according to a new analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
Byrnihat was the second most polluted city closely behind Delhi with an average PM2.5 of 157 micrograms per cubic metre, it said.
Aizawl in Mizoram recorded the lowest winter average PM2.5 level at 7 micrograms per cubic metre, making it the cleanest city in the analysis. The other top 10 least polluted cities had six cities from Karnataka and three from Tamil Nadu.
But four National Capital Region cities — Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Noida and Charkhi Dadri (in Haryana) — were among the top 10 most polluted cities in India in the winter season.
The analysis covered 238 cities in the country and is based on the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) data from the Central Pollution Control Board, which was available for 80% of the days.
According to the analysis, over the 151-day winter period, 100 cities featured in the top 10 most polluted cities at least once. Of these, 44 cities appeared at least 10 times. Byrnihat had the highest recurrence (111 days), followed by Delhi (105 days), Hajipur (80 days) Ghaziabad (52 days), and Bahadurgarh (47 days).
Manoj Kumar, an analyst at CREA, said, “With all Delhi-NCR cities exceeding NAAQS benchmarks, the persistent severity of winter pollution in the region is evident. The upcoming National Clean Air Programme revision must prioritise source-wise emission load reduction with effective implementation and monitoring to ensure measurable improvements in air quality across the region.”
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had recently said that both his state and neighbouring Assam have the responsibility to improve the air quality of Byrnihat, listed as India’s most polluted town in 2024. Byrnihat in Meghalaya is located on the border of the two states and in between two industrial areas of the two Northeastern neighbours.
The chief minister also called upon the local community to partner with the government to minimise aspects of pollution.
In 2023, the CPCB had first declared Byrnihat as the most polluted urban centre in the country surpassing the national capital Delhi and all other metropolises and cities, with an AQI of 302 which put it in the category of “very poor”.
In 2024, there was no improvement and the air quality was still “very poor”.