The air of 95 cities of the country has become clean
New Delhi: Air quality has improved in 95 of the 131 cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). Data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) shows that 21 cities have seen a reduction in pollution by more than 40 per cent compared to 2017-18 levels. The CPCB also said that only 18 of the 131 NCAP cities complied with the NAAQS, which is set at 60 micrograms per cubic metre.
The cities whose air has become clean are-
The 21 cities that have been named for clean air are Varanasi, Dhanbad, Burnihat, Bareilly, Firozabad, Dehradun, Tuticorin, Nalagarh, Moradabad, Khurja, Trichy, Kohima, Lucknow, Kanpur, Kadapa, Shiv Sagar, Sunder Nagar, Agra, Greater Mumbai, Rishikesh and Parwanoo. According to the data, Khanna, Durgapur, Kurnool, Dera Baba Nanak, Vadodara, Allahabad, Asansol, Hyderabad, Gorakhpur, Ranchi, Bengaluru, Akola, Anantapur, Durg Bhilai Nagar, Surat and Noida recorded a 20-30 per cent reduction in PM10 levels during the same period.
The air of these cities also became clean
At the same time, 21 cities Delhi, Howrah, Thane, Latur, Nellore, Gajraula, Alwar, Chittoor, Kala Amb, Mandi Gobindgarh, Amravati, Patiala, Jaipur, Ongole, Chandrapur, Nashik, Jhansi, Sangli, Kota, Davanagere and Rajahmundry recorded a 10-20 percent reduction in PM10 pollution. India launched NCAP in 2019 with the aim of reducing pollution caused by ultra-fine particles PM10 by 20-30 percent by 2024, taking 2017 as the base year.
Surat’s air was the cleanest
Surat on Saturday was ranked as the top major city in India for air quality improvement, followed by Jabalpur and Agra. The Union environment ministry presented the awards at a national workshop organised on the occasion of ‘International Clean Air Day for Clean Blue Skies’ in Jaipur. Surat, Jabalpur and Agra secured the top three positions among cities with a population of more than 10 lakh, while Firozabad (Uttar Pradesh), Amravati (Maharashtra) and Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh) were ranked among cities with a population of 3 to 10 lakh.
(Input-PTI)
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