New Delhi: In what continues to be a struggle for the Delhi administration to bring under control, the air quality index (AQI) in the national capital on Monday morning remained at the high end of ‘very poor’ category. The air pollution was dominated by the share of pollutants from farm fires, estimated at nearly 40 per cent of the cause.Also Read - Delhi Pollution: Govt to Launch Month-Long Anti-Open Burning Campaign From Tuesday, Says Gopal Rai
Delhi’s Air Quality Index this morning was recorded at 362 in Sonia Vihar, 345 in Bawana, 326 in Patparganj and 373 in Jahangirpuri. All four of the areas were in the ‘very poor’ category, as per Central Pollution Control Board. Also Read - 99% Of World's Population Breathes Air That Exceeds Quality Limits, Says WHO
However, it must be noted that Delhi is not the only city that has ‘very poor’ air pollution. Ghaziabad and Lucknow also join the national capital among 21 Indian cities that feature in the list of 30 most polluted cities in the world. Also Read - Delhi's Summer Action Plan to Fight Pollution: Here's What It Includes
Let’s take a look at Indian cities with best and worst AQI:
10 Cities with Cleanest Air
| Rank | City | PM2.5’s 2019 average (µg/m³) |
| 1 | Satna (Madhya Pradesh) | 15.5 |
| 2 | Kumbhori (Maharashtra) | 20.3 |
| 3 | Haldia (West Bengal) | 25.9 |
| 4 | Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) | 26.4 |
| 5 | Katiya Kalan (Madhya Pradesh) | 27.7 |
| 6 | Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) | 27.9 |
| 7 | Chikkaballapur (Karnataka) | 28.8 |
| 8 | Bhatinda (Punjab) | 31.0 |
| 9 | Bengaluru (Karnataka) | 32.6 |
| 10 | Amravati (Andhra Pradesh) | 33 |
10 Cities with Most Polluted Air
| Rank | City | PM2.5’s 2020 average (µg/m³) |
| 1 | Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) | 115 |
| 2 | New Delhi (Delhi) | 100 |
| 3 | Gurugram (Haryana) | 96 |
| 4 | Noida (Uttar Pradesh) | 95 |
| 5 | Kolkata (West Bengal) | 78 |
| 6 | Mumbai (Maharashtra) | 72 |
| 7 | Hyderabad (Telengana) | 65 |
| 8 | Bengaluru (Karnataka) | 57 |
| 9 | Mandideep (Madhya Pradesh) | 55 |
| 10 | Mandi Gobindgarh (Punjab) | 49 |