• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has released the results of the Swachh Vayu Survekshan (SVS) 2025, conducted under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
• The survey, which assesses 130 cities annually on eight key parameters including road dust mitigation, vehicular and industrial emission control, solid waste management, and public awareness, aims to promote competition among cities for cleaner air.
• Indore retained its top position among million-plus population cities, followed by Jabalpur and Agra/Surat. Navi Mumbai ranked 4th, Kanpur 5th, Bhopal 6th, and Allahabad 7th. Delhi secured the 32nd position, Bengaluru 36th, Kolkata 38th, and Chennai 41st.
• In other categories, Amravati ranked first among 3–10 lakh population cities, while Dewas (MP) secured the top spot in cities with under 3 lakh population.
• PM10 levels showed improvement in 103 out of 130 NCAP cities, with Mumbai recording the highest decline (44%), followed by Kolkata (37%), Hyderabad and Bengaluru (26% each), Delhi (15%), and Chennai (12%).
• Notably, 22 cities met the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of less than 60 μg/m³ for PM10, with Chennai being the only metro city to achieve this benchmark at 58 μg/m³.