India, April 7 -- Ghaziabad recorded the highest PM10 pollution among 96 NCAP cities in 2025-26.

Delhi and Noida followed closely.

79 cities showed some improvement since 2017-18 and 27 cut PM10 by over 40%.

89 cities breached national limits, underscoring limited progress on clean air goals.

Ghaziabad recorded an average PM10 concentration of 215 µg / m³ in financial year 2025-26, according to a new analysis. This is the highest among the 96 cities under the National Clean Air Programme with sufficient data, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

It was followed by Delhi (201 µg / m³) and Noida (195 µg / m³), all recording PM10 concentrations more than three times the natio...