NEW DELHI: Lucknow is ranked at the top followed by Indore and Jabalpur as second and third, respectively, in the list of million-plus population cities in the ‘Swachh Vayu Survekshan’ (clean air survey) 2026 for implementing air pollution mitigation measures under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).The survey report, released by the Union environment ministry on the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies on Monday, shows that though the levels of the average PM10 (particulate matter 10), a key pollutant, continue to be high in these cities compared to others in 2025-26, they still figured as the top three cities in the list due to scoring high on other parameters whose weightage is higher than the reduction in PM10 concentration level.The average annual PM10 concentration in Lucknow was 135 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m3) during 2025-26, whereas it was 76 μg/m3 in Indore and 78 μg/m3 in Jabalpur. Last year, Indore was at the top, followed by Jabalpur in second position, and Agra and Surat in joint third position for their performance during 2024-25.Delhi with PM10 concentration of 200 μg/m3 is ranked 21st in the survey list, whereas Pune (97 μg/m3) is placed at 12th rank, Hyderabad (80 μg/m3) at 19th, Jaipur (143 μg/m3) at 20th, Mumbai (81 μg/m3) at 28th rank, Bangalore (76 μg/m3) at 32nd, Varanasi (75 μg/m3) at 34th, Chennai (69 μg/m3) at 35th and Kolkata (87 μg/m3) at 38th.Except in Delhi and Jaipur, the level of PM10 is less in these big cities than in Lucknow, which topped the list as reduction in PM10 concentration level has low weightage in the overall score. None of these big metros, however, met the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) by reporting annual average PM10 concentrations of less than 60 μg/m3.“Development and environmental conservation are not at cross purposes but can go together while maintaining the quality of life for the citizens. It is the responsibility of each citizen to ensure that generations to come are able to live in a clean environment,” said chairperson, National Green Tribunal (NGT), Justice Prakash Shrivastava, who was the chief guest at the event to award the cities for their performance.
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The survey has ranked 130 cities on the basis of real action on the ground to deal with different polluting activities, considering eight parameters including measures taken by cities on road dust, solid waste management, vehicular emissions, industrial pollution, construction and demolition waste management and other emissions (such as DG sets and commercial establishments).The ministry, on the occasion, shared that 108 out of 130 cities have shown improvement in PM10 levels in 2025-26 with respect to the levels of 2017-18, whereas 26 cities recorded reductions in PM10 concentration of more than 40% during the period and 14 cities met the NAAQS.
