A new report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) shows that 44 percent of cities in India are polluted, but only 4 percent of these cities have implemented the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

The report was prepared by analyzing satellite data from 2019 to 2025, excluding the year 2020, the year of the Covid pandemic. A study conducted in 4041 cities in India shows that 1787 cities are polluted. PM 2.5 levels in these cities are found to be higher than India's national standard. In India, an annual PM 2.5 of 40 micrograms per cubic meter of air is the national standard and anything above this is considered pollution. PM 2.5 are very small dust and smoke particles in the air, which are less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter and can easily enter the lungs when inhaled. The report said that Baryinihat in Assam is the most polluted city. The PM 2.5 level here is 100 micrograms per cubic meter. Similarly, Delhi has 97 micrograms per cubic meter and Ghaziabad has 93 micrograms per cubic meter.

Noida is the fourth most polluted city, Gurugram is the fifth, Greater Noida is the sixth, Bhiwandi is the seventh, Hajipur is the eighth, Muzaffarnagar is the ninth and Hapur is the tenth.

The air quality index (AQI) in the capital city of India, New Delhi, was in a very bad condition on Saturday. The AQI in Anand Vihar here crossed the record of 425 on Saturday morning. It was 428 in Nehru Nagar.

Similarly, Chandni Chowk was 408, Dwarka Sector-8 was 401, Siri Fort was 403, Vivek Vihar was 414, Patparganj was 397, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was 394 and RK Puram was 392. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) classifies AQI between (0–50) as ‘excellent’, (51–100) as ‘satisfactory’, (101–200) as ‘moderate’, (201–300) as ‘poor’, (301–400) as ‘very poor’ and (401–500) as ‘severe’.

The minimum temperature in Delhi on Friday night dropped to 4.6 degrees Celsius. Dense fog had blanketed the city since Saturday morning. Several flights were cancelled and some were delayed at Delhi airport due to low visibility on Saturday morning. Rains lashed parts of Delhi NCR on Friday.

However, despite this, there was no significant improvement in air quality. Meteorologists attributed the situation to cold, stable atmospheric conditions and light winds.

Allegations and counter-allegations between the ruling party and the opposition

On the last day of the winter session of the Delhi Assembly, on Friday, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) engaged in an allegation and counter-allegation battle over air pollution.

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that Delhiites are now facing problems because the AAP government did not take any steps to control pollution in the past. Similarly, AAP MLAs said that Delhi's air quality has deteriorated the most in history during the BJP's rule.

There was a question-and-answer session in the House on pollution that lasted for about two hours. Minister Sirsa said that the government is making a special plan to control pollution. He said that the failed results of the bad policies taken by the AAP government have now been exposed, citing analyses by global agencies like the World Health Organization and IQ Air.

Referring to the findings of the Auditor General of India, he said that the 'odd-even' vehicle scheme implemented during the AAP government had failed to control pollution. He accused the government of failing to set up air-quality monitoring stations.

AAP MLA and former environment minister Gopal Rai said that the BJP was blaming the previous government to hide its failure. He said that the BJP government had not been able to produce rain despite investing crores in the artificial rain scheme. 'Why is the government not talking about its failed artificial rain scheme despite spending crores?' he asked.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that instead of opposing the past efforts for artificial rain, the efforts made for artificial rain should be praised. 'Our efforts for cloud seeding may have failed. But, we tried. It should be appreciated,' she said. She said that sufficient funds have been released to the Delhi Metropolitan Municipality for garbage and road cleaning efforts. ‘Delhi is turning green from the gas chamber,’ she said.

An attempt was made in Delhi last October to create artificial rain through cloud seeding. However, the initial efforts failed due to lack of humidity. However, government officials and experts are optimistic that artificial rain can be created in the future when the weather is good.

Drug-resistant bacteria in the air

A new study by Jawaharlal Nehru University has shown that drug-resistant bacteria are present in Delhi’s toxic air. This has added to the challenge to public health, researchers said.

The report was published in the journal Nature-Scientific. According to scientists, most of the bacteria are methicillin-resistant and even strong antibiotics do not touch these bacteria. Therefore, scientists say that those who breathe Delhi’s polluted air are at risk of life-threatening or requiring intensive treatment for respiratory diseases. Delhi's air pollution not only worsens asthma and heart disease, but also increases the risk of antimicrobial resistance or AMR. Researchers from JNU conducted this study by taking indoor and outdoor air samples from different areas of Delhi. Public health experts have said that drug-resistant bacteria in the air can cause various diseases including pneumonia, blood infections, urinary tract infections, skin problems. Doctors have said that the complications of treatment will increase as common antibiotics and medicines do not work to control such bacteria.