For the financial year 2025-26, Ghaziabad ranked as the most polluted city in the country.

India’s Most Polluted Cities: Gurgaon Tops March, Ghaziabad Leads FY26 Pollution Rankings

Gurgaon recorded the highest pollution levels in India in March 2026, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 116 micrograms per cubic meter. The data placed the city at the top of the national pollution rankings for the month.

Air quality trends across states showed that multiple regions reported cities exceeding prescribed limits. In Haryana, nine out of 24 cities recorded PM2.5 levels above the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, while in Uttar Pradesh, eight out of 21 cities crossed the same threshold.

The group of the ten most polluted cities during March included Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Noida, Singrauli, Mandideep, Nandesari, Bhiwadi, Faridabad, Bahadurgarh, and Manesar. Haryana accounted for four cities in this list, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh with two each, and Rajasthan and Gujarat with one city each. For the financial year 2025-26, Ghaziabad ranked as the most polluted city in the country.

Long-term analysis under the National Clean Air Programme showed mixed progress. Several cities have not yet achieved the programme’s targets even after seven years of implementation. At the same time, nine cities in Uttar Pradesh recorded more than 40 percent reduction in PM10 levels compared to the 2017-18 baseline, with similar improvements reported in selected cities across other states.

Among individual cities, Dehradun recorded a 75 percent decline in PM10 levels, while Visakhapatnam registered a 73 percent increase. Delhi reported a 17 percent reduction over the same period.

The findings are based on an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), covering air quality data across cities and states.