Eleven Assam districts among India’s 50 most polluted: CREA study
The Northeastern states present an unexpected pollution hotspot, with Assam and Tripura featuring in the top five in three seasons (winter, summer, and monsoon).
Representational Image
Representational Image
Guwahati, Nov 28: Delhi’s air pollution crisis may be a nationwide concern, but equally alarming is the rapid pace at which Assam is catching up.
Eleven districts of Assam are among the top 50 polluted districts in the country, according to a satellite-based PM2.5 assessment across India’s airsheds, states and districts.
“The most polluted districts are heavily concentrated in a few states, highlighting regional clustering of severe air quality issues. Delhi (11 districts) and Assam (11 districts) alone account for nearly half of the top 50, followed by Bihar (7) and Haryana (7). Other notable contributors include Uttar Pradesh (4), Tripura (3), Rajasthan (2), West Bengal (2), and single districts from Chandigarh, Meghalaya and Nagaland,” the study by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), an independent research organisation, said.
Several states are in universal non-compliance, where all monitored districts exceed the NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standards). These include Delhi, Assam, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Jammu and Kashmir.
All the 34 districts observed in Assam exceeded the NAAQS in 2024.
“Assam, Delhi, Punjab, and Tripura remain pollution hotspots year-round, exceeding PM2.5 standards even during the monsoon when much of India experiences cleaner air. Assam recorded 21 districts, Delhi nine, Punjab 15, and Tripura 6 districts exceeding standards during the monsoon season, showing that meteorological relief alone is insufficient to overcome their substantial baseline emissions,” the study observed.
The Northeastern states present an unexpected pollution hotspot, with Assam and Tripura featuring in the top five in three seasons (winter, summer, and monsoon).
The study recommended that states should develop district-level air quality action plans, guided by satellite data to identify hotspots, prioritise high-exposure populations, and allocate mitigation resources efficiently.
The persistence of high PM2.5 across the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Northeastern states highlights the need to address major regional source clusters such as power generation, industrial activity, biomass burning, and transport, it added.