Even as stubble-burning smoke eased this winter, the air quality in Delhi-NCR worsened. According to the monthly air quality snapshot released by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) for November, despite stubble burning contributing less to Delhi PM2.5 this year, averaging 7% this November, down from 20% last year, 20 out of 29 cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) recorded higher pollution levels than last year. Additionally, 19 cities exceeded the PM2.5 standard every single day in November.
The CREA drew from real-time continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) PM2.5 data for the November 2025 Monthly Air Quality Snapshot. Notably, PM2.5 refers to fine particulate matter, measuring less than 2.5 micrometres, which is small enough to enter the lungs and bloodstream, making it one of the most harmful air pollutants.
6 out of 10 most polluted cities in UP
Ghaziabad, in Uttar Pradesh, topped the list of the most polluted cities in India in November, recording a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 224 µg/m³, violating the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) every day of the month. Notably, the NAAQS for PM2.5 is 60 µg/m³ for daily and 40 µg/m³ for annual average. Ghaziabad was joined by 113 out of 255 cities, which breached the national PM2.5 standard in November.
Among the top 10 most polluted cities were Noida, Bahadurgarh, Delhi, Hapur, Greater Noida, Baghpat, Sonipat, Meerut and Rohtak. In fact, nine of India’s top 10 most polluted cities, other than Delhi, recorded higher pollution than last November.While Uttar Pradesh accounted for six of the ten most polluted cities, Haryana had three. Notably, cities including Gurgaon, Faridabad, Muzaffarnagar, Bulandshahr, Bhiwani, Karnal and Yamunanagar recorded PM2.5 levels above the national air quality standard every day of the month.
Delhi’s PM2.5 rises 2x
Delhi ranked fourth with the monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 215 µg/m³ in November. This was twice its October’s monthly average of 107 µg/m³. The study reported that the city recorded a sharp decline in the contribution of stubble burning from 20% last year to 7% this November. In fact, the peak contribution of stubble burning was 20%, lower than 38% recorded last year.“Despite a significant reduction in stubble-burning influence, 20 out of 29 NCR cities recorded higher pollution levels than the previous year, and many still did not register a single day within NAAQS limits. This clearly indicates that the dominant drivers are year-round sources such as transport, industry, power plants, and other combustion sources. Without sector-specific emission cuts, cities will continue to breach standards,” noted Manoj Kumar, analyst at CREA.
Rajasthan dirtiest, Meghalaya cleanest
While six of the top 10 most polluted cities are in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan had the highest number of cities breaching air-quality standards in November, with 23 of 34 exceeding the limit. Haryana followed with 22 of 25, and UP had 14 of 20. Meanwhile, Meghalaya’s capital, Shillong, was the cleanest with the monthly PM2.5 concentration of 7 µg/m³. And of the 10 cleanest cities, six were from Karnataka, and one each from Kerala, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu.
While only 114 out of 255 cities with sufficient data complied with the much lenient NAAQS of 60 µg/m³, just two met the World Health Organisation’s benchmark of 15 µg/m³. In general, the air quality distribution shifted markedly towards more polluted categories in November compared to December.
