Most cities on path to achieve national clean air target; Varanasi leads

The government allocated Rs 9,631 crore to reduce the levels of particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller by 40 per cent in 131 cities by 2026 from the 2017 levels

As the country commemorates the fifth anniversary of its flagship initiative, the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), launched on January 10, 2019, to improve air quality in some of the most polluted cities, the latest data shows among 49 cities with consistent particulate matter (PM) data over five years, 27 improved in PM2.5 levels.

Particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns (one micron is one-thousandth of a millimetre) or smaller are crucial in assessing air pollution due to their widespread presence and capacity to evade the body’s natural defences. These tiny particles can deeply penetrate the lungs, leading to diseases