♦ Swiss air quality technology company IQAir released the World Air Quality Report 2024 on 11 March 2025.

♦ Accordong to this thirteen of the world's top 20 most polluted cities are in India, with Byrnihat in Assam topping the list.

♦ It said Delhi remains the most polluted capital city globally, while India ranked as the world's fifth most polluted country in 2024, down from third in 2023.
Highlights:

♦ India saw a 7 percent decline in PM2.5 concentrations in 2024, averaging 50.6 micrograms per cubic metre, compared to 54.4 micrograms per cubic metre in 2023. Yet, six of the world's 10 most polluted cities are in India.

♦ The 13 Indian cities in the world's top 20 most polluted cities are Byrnihat, Delhi, Mullanpur (Punjab), Faridabad, Loni, New Delhi, Gurugram, Ganganagar, Greater Noida, Bhiwadi, Muzaffarnagar, Hanumangarh and Noida.

♦ Overall, 35 per cent of the Indian cities reported annual PM2.5 levels exceeding 10 times the WHO limit of 5 micrograms per cubic metre.