Delhi Second Most Polluted North Indian City First: Ghaziabad was the most polluted city last winter in north India, followed by Delhi. This was found in a recent study about air quality.
This study, called “All India Winter Air Quality Analysis,” was done by a group called the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). They found that during the winter of 2021-22 (from October to February), air pollution increased and stayed high in all parts of India.
The study looked at many areas – north, south, east, west, and central parts of India.
Ghaziabad was the most polluted in the north, with a specific type of pollution called PM2.5 being very high. Delhi came next. Other cities near Delhi, like Faridabad, Noida, and Gurugram, also had high pollution.
But there is some good news. The air pollution in north India was a bit lower than before. In Delhi’s area, it was 8% lower. But pollution also increased significantly in a short time, especially in southern and central India.
In the north, Srinagar was the cleanest city. Siwan in Bihar was the most polluted in the east, while in the west, it was Ankleshwar in Gujarat. The central part’s most polluted city was Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh. In the south, two cities, Kalaburgi in Karnataka and Hyderabad in Telangana, were the most polluted. In the northeast, it was Guwahati in Assam.
The study was part of a project by the CSE’s group that checks air quality.
The CSE says that air pollution in winter is now a big problem in many cities, not just the big ones. They say we need to act fast. The leading pollution causes are cars, factories, power plants, and waste. Anumita Roychowdhury from CSE said that although the overall pollution has decreased in some places, it can still go up a lot in winter.
Another person from CSE, Avikal Somvanshi, said they can now check air quality better because more machines can measure it. This helps them compare pollution levels in different places.
The data for the study came from a government website that checks air quality. They got information from 326 places in 161 cities across India.