Delhi most polluted city in India in 2022: report

India's national capital territory -- Delhi was the country's most polluted city in 2022, according to the latest report based on an analysis of Central Pollution Control Board data.

The report was prepared by the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) Tracker, a joint project of Climate Trends and Respirer Living Sciences designed to track India's progress in achieving clean air targets.

"Based on an analysis of air quality monitoring data, the national capital of Delhi ranked the most polluted in 2022, with an annual average PM 2.5 concentration of 99.71 micrograms per cubic metre. However, Delhi's PM 2.5 levels improved by over 7 percent compared to 2019," India's Clean Air Tracker said.

However, it still remains way below the desired level.

The government's flagship NCAP targets to reduce pollution by 20-30 percent by 2024 as compared to 2017 levels.

The program for better air quality in 122 cities was launched in 2019.

"Most cities in the top 10 most polluted list of 2022 are from the Indo-Gangetic Plain, demonstrating that real and long-term solutions lie in an airshed approach to address the need for better Air Pollution management in the region beyond Delhi," the tracker said.

The analysis was released on Tuesday to mark four years of the launch of the NCAP.