Climate & Environment
93 Indian Cities Rank Among World’s 100 Most Polluted After Diwali
After Diwali celebrations on November 8, 93 Indian cities appeared in the world’s 100 most polluted locations, according to AQI.in data released on November 9 and updated at 10:05 AM. Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar topped the global list with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 868, classified as hazardous. Punjab’s Faridkot followed with an AQI of 842, and Bathinda was third with 797. Haryana’s Sirsa ranked fourth worldwide with an AQI of 612, followed by Bhiwani at 548. Uttar Pradesh’s Budaun recorded 489, Hisar 485, and Amritsar 451. Pakistan’s Lahore was ninth with 446, and Prayagraj completed the top 10 with 440; all were hazardous. Other heavily polluted cities included Rohtak, Jaunpur, Patiala and Bulandshahr. New Delhi was 15th globally with an AQI of 380, Lucknow 20th at 344, Kanpur 22nd at 337, Ghaziabad 331, Greater Noida 327, and Noida 30th at 307; all remained hazardous. The rankings also highlighted severe pollution across central, eastern and western India: Pune 278, Bhopal 284, Patna 258, Varanasi 243, Rajkot 242, Nashik 219, Bhubaneswar 200, Durgapur 197, Howrah 187 and Kolkata 183. Six locations outside India were in the top 100: Lahore, Peshawar and Islamabad in Pakistan; Kidbrooke and Catford in Britain; Mielec in Poland; and Sampit in Indonesia. The data capture pollution levels at a specific time and do not establish whether Diwali celebrations directly caused the readings, but India’s overwhelming presence underscores serious air‑quality concerns across the country.
Frequently asked questions
Which Indian city topped the global list of most polluted locations after Diwali?
Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, with an AQI of 868, classified as hazardous.
How many Indian cities were listed in the world’s top 100 most polluted locations after Diwali?
93 Indian cities appeared in the list.
Which Pakistani city was included in the top 10 most polluted locations?
Lahore, with an AQI of 446, was ninth in the top 10.