Noida stands at 9th, Ghaziabad 12th in India’s air quality rankings

Ghaziabad improved from 18th last year, while Noida slipped from 6th to 9th. Both cities credited cleaner fuels, stricter construction checks, and road work.

Ghaziabad city improved its performance in the recently concluded Swachh Vayu Survekshan–2025, securing 12th place among 48 cities with populations above 10 lakh, officials said. Noida, meanwhile, ranked ninth among 42 cities with populations between three and 10 lakh.

Officials cited road sweeping, smog guns, and plantation drives. Ghaziabad spent ₹131 cr in two years on road upgrades and planted 2.5 lakh saplings. (Sunil Gjosh/HT)

The results, announced on September 9, are part of a ministry of environment, forests and climate change initiative that ranks 130 cities under the National Clean Air Programme. Cities are assessed on air quality and the implementation of measures approved under their respective city action plans.

In 2024, Ghaziabad ranked 18th in its category, while Noida was placed sixth. In 2023, Ghaziabad was 12th and Noida 24th.

The rankings weigh factors such as biomass and waste burning, road and construction dust, vehicular and industrial emissions, PM10 levels, and measures like greenbelt development, waste management, and clean fuel adoption.

“Ghaziabad’s improvement is largely due to industrial units switching to cleaner fuels and strict enforcement at construction sites,” said Ankit Kumar, regional officer of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board. “Water sprinkling and mechanised road sweeping are conducted regularly, even outside the graded response action plan (Grap) period. We are fully prepared for extensive measures during the upcoming GRAP season.”

The Ghaziabad municipal corporation attributed the progress to sustained investment and enforcement. “We spent about ₹131 crore in the last two years on road improvements, with another ₹23 crore worth of projects in the tender stage,” the corporation said in a statement. “Around 2.5 lakh plants were planted after clearing solid waste dumps, and 10 anti-smog guns are operated regularly. Pollution abatement measures are closely monitored.”

In Noida, officials cited similar efforts. “Road sweeping and mechanized cleaning are routine, and construction sites are under constant pressure to adopt pollution control measures,” said Ritesh Tiwari, regional officer of UPPCB Noida. “Public awareness about pollution has also grown, contributing to our performance.”

Average annual air quality index (AQI) levels have improved in both cities. Ghaziabad recorded AQIs of 206, 181, and 176 in 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively, while Noida’s readings were 199, 188, and 184.

Environmentalists cautioned that expanding NCR cities need more monitoring stations and year-round GRAP activities like water sprinkling and mechanical sweeping. “Traffic congestion and poor roads also affect air quality,” said Sushil Raghav, a Ghaziabad-based environmentalist.

The results showed that top-performing cities across population categories focused on measures such as end-to-end road paving, expanded mechanical sweeping, bioremediation of legacy waste, stricter management of construction debris and solid waste, reclaiming dumpsites through plantation, developing greenbelts, and transitioning industries to clean fuels, among other initiatives.