Byrnihat, an industrial town on the border with Assam, was the most polluted ‘city’ in India during February.
This is as per the data released by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) today.
The study, based on the monthly average of (particulate matter) PM2.5, has put the spotlight on hazardous air pollution levels in urban centres across the states in the North East.
Byrnihat recorded a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 183 µg/m3, which was around 60 µg/m3 higher than the second most polluted city, Araria, in Bihar.
The PM2.5 levels in Byrnihat were also nearly 1.8 times the PM2.5 concentration recorded for Delhi for the same period, which was the 14th most polluted city in India for February 2024.
Apart from Byrnihat, other cities in the North East that made the list of 30 most polluted cities in India in February were Nalbari (5th), Agartala (12th), Guwahati (19th), and Nagaon (28th), highlighting the worsening pollution levels across the region.
