Delhi’s periphery, not the capital, see worst pollution spike in early 2026

AQI has been high in Delhi's periphery

• Delhi's suburbs had worse AQI than the capital in January 2026.
• 67 of 109 cities saw worse air quality than last year, indicating a decline.
• AQI increased year-on-year in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, and Kolkata.

Did our AI summary help?

Air quality has deteriorated more sharply in Delhi’s peripheral cities than in the capital itself at the start of 2026, a Moneycontrol analysis of AQI data shows.

Pollution levels across the outer ring of the National Capital Region (NCR) have surged far more sharply than in the national capital itself. In Meerut, the average air quality index (AQI) during the first 22 days of January stood at 259, compared with 141 during the same period last year, pushing the city deep into the “poor” to “very poor” category.

The trend is visible across NCR’s major satellite cities. Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad all recorded materially higher average AQI levels in January than a year ago, underscoring how pollution pressure is increasingly shifting away from Delhi towards its fast-growing periphery.

Overall, 67 of the 109 cities that reported comparable data saw worse air quality than last year, pointing to a broad-based deterioration rather than a Delhi-centric episode.

Major metros show mixed but worsening trends

Beyond NCR, several large Indian cities also reported higher pollution levels compared with January 2025, though the severity varied.

In western India, Ahmedabad continued to remain among the more polluted large cities, with January averages firmly in the “moderate” to “poor” range and higher than last year. Mumbai and Pune also saw a year-on-year rise in AQI, reflecting growing vehicular congestion and construction activity.

Southern metros showed relatively lower absolute AQI levels but were not immune to deterioration. Bengaluru and Chennai both recorded higher January averages than last year, suggesting a gradual erosion of air quality.

In the east, Kolkata continued to rank among India’s most polluted metros, with AQI levels rising year-on-year and remaining persistently in the “poor” category for much of January.

A regional, not city-specific problem

The data highlights a structural shift in India’s pollution geography. While Delhi benefits from episodic emergency measures—construction bans, traffic curbs and industrial restrictions—its surrounding cities often lack comparable enforcement intensity. As a result, pollution stress is increasingly being redistributed rather than eliminated.