Climate & Environment
Lucknow Dethrones Indore as India's Cleanest City in Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2026; Noida Ranks Among Top 10
By HT News Desk
Lucknow has been named India's cleanest city for air quality in the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2026, scoring 198 points among cities with a population of over 10 lakh. Indore, which had topped the survey in 2025 with a perfect score of 200, slipped to second place this year with 197 points.
The survey ranks cities across three population categories: those with more than 10 lakh residents, those with 3 lakh to 10 lakh residents, and those with fewer than 3 lakh residents.
Among major metropolitan cities, Delhi scored 172 points and ranked 21st, while Mumbai scored 160.8 points to place 28th in the largest population category. Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata ranked 32nd, 35th and 38th, respectively.
Jabalpur secured third position with 195 points, while Bhopal and Agra tied for fourth place with 192 points each.
In the 3 lakh to 10 lakh population category, Rourkela topped the list, followed by Firozabad, Guntur, Amravati, Bhubaneswar, Jhansi, Alwar, Latur and Moradabad. Noida rounded out the top 10 in this category.
For cities with populations below 3 lakh, Kalinga Nagar ranked first, followed by Angul, Talcher, Eluru, Haldia, Vizianagaram, Dewas, Sangareddy, Damtal and Nalgonda.
The survey places significant emphasis on controlling PM10 particulate matter — particles measuring 10 micrometres or less in diameter, originating from sources such as vehicle emissions, road dust and industrial activity, which pose respiratory health risks when inhaled.
Data from the Indore Municipal Corporation showed the city's annual average PM10 level stood at approximately 81 micrograms per cubic metre this year, marking a decline of over 15% compared to previous years. However, this figure still exceeds the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre for residential, industrial and rural areas.
The same data indicated that Indore's Air Quality Index remained below 200 on more than 98% of days during the survey's assessment period. Under the AQI classification system, readings of 0-50 are considered 'Good', 51-100 'Satisfactory', 101-200 'Moderate', 201-300 'Poor', 301-400 'Very Poor', and 401-500 'Severe'.
Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava told PTI that the city fell one point short of Lucknow due to weaker performance on PM10 standards, attributing this partly to Indore having one of the highest vehicle densities in Madhya Pradesh.
To address this, the city plans to expand awareness initiatives like the "Red Light On, Engine Off" campaign encouraging electric vehicle use, while increasing e-bus operations. The municipal corporation also intends to convert door-to-door garbage collection vehicles to electric models and push industries to switch from diesel to cleaner fuels such as CNG.
Officials noted that approximately 700 km of roads are mechanically swept daily to control dust, alongside efforts to better manage construction waste across the city.