The Municipal Corporation has taken action on the problem of illegal carts outside shops on the banks of Yamuna in East Delhi. (AI generated)
Digital Desk, New Delhi. In the year 2025, Delhi-NCR remained one of the most polluted cities of India. The pollution of Delhi-NCR has become such that years change but its condition does not. Pollution here no longer exists during any season but throughout the year and the problems of the people here are increasing instead of decreasing. The issue of pollution echoed from the streets to the Parliament. The new year has arrived and the phase of suffocating breaths continues. It is not that it cannot be improved, so what lessons can we take from the past years to improve the air of Delhi-NCR this year, this story of ours is an investigation of this.
According to a new report by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Delhi will be the most polluted among NCR cities in 2025, followed by Ghaziabad and Noida. Annual data shows that PM2.5 levels decreased slightly in Delhi compared to last year, but the average level in the pollution season (October-December) increased slightly from 2024. The annual level of PM2.5 was recorded at least 1.8 times the national standard (40 micrograms/cubic meter) at all 40 monitoring stations in Delhi.
Of the 29 cities in NCR, only 14 cities had more than 75% PM2.5 data coverage available, while the remaining 15 cities…located in Haryana (Bahadurgarh, Sonipat, Dharuhera, Manesar, Rohtak, Jind, Ballabhgarh, Charkhi Dadri, Panipat, Karnal, Narnaul, Bhiwani, Faridabad, Mandikhera and Palwal)—remained inadequate. Delhi's annual PM2.5 average was 96. microgram/cubic meter, which is 2.4 times higher than the national standard and 19.2 times higher than the WHO safe guideline (5 micrograms/cubic meter). PM2.5 levels in April, August and December were higher than last year.
According to CREA's 2025 report, all NCR cities except Rajasthan's Bharatpur and Alwar crossed the annual PM2.5 norm. Ghaziabad recorded the highest number of days exceeding the daily PM2.5 norm. The most polluted monitoring station in Delhi was Jahangirpuri, where the annual average PM2.5 level was 130 μg/m3. This was followed by Wazirpur (124), Bawana (123), Anand Vihar (121) and Rohini (115) respectively. Even Delhi's least polluted station NSIT Dwarka (73 micrograms/cubic metre) was 1.8 times more than the national standard.
CREA analyst Manoj Kumar said, "Pollution in NCR now persists throughout the year, and not just for a few months. The lack of improvement reflects the limitations of short-term measures." Meanwhile, according to the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), only 35% of Delhi's total PM2.5 comes from local sources, with the remaining 65% from outside areas. Transport is the largest contributor (about 46%). According to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the average AQI for 2025 is 201, the second lowest in seven years after 2018 (209 in 2024).
Annual average PM2.5 concentrations of NCR cities in 2025
National Standard (NAAQS): 40 μg/m³