Ghaziabad India's Most Polluted City in Nov; Shillong Cleanest

• Ghaziabad was India's most polluted city in November, with a monthly average PM2.5 of 224 micrograms/m³, exceeding national standards for all 30 days.
• Shillong, Meghalaya, was named India's cleanest city in November, recording the lowest monthly average PM2.5 concentration at 7 micrograms/m³.
• The top 10 most polluted cities included Ghaziabad, Noida, Bahadurgarh, Delhi, Hapur, Greater Noida, Baghpat, Sonipat, Meerut, and Rohtak.
• Delhi ranked fourth most polluted, with PM2.5 nearly doubling from October; stubble burning's contribution to Delhi's air pollution was lower this year (7% vs 20% last year).
• Despite lower stubble burning, 20 of 29 NCR cities had higher pollution than last year, and states like Rajasthan, Haryana, and UP showed widespread high PM2.5 levels.

Why It Matters: This data highlights widespread air pollution's direct threat to public health.