Gurgaon: Haryana was the country’s biggest pollution hotspot in Sept, with five of its cities figuring among India’s 10 most polluted. The alarming spike has come even before winter sets in.Panipat topped the national list at 78 µg/m³, followed by Jind at 66, while Gurgaon, Yamunanagar and Manesar also made the top 10. The findings, from a Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) analysis, are a warning for residents bracing for another winter of toxic air. Experts said that as temperatures fall and stagnant air makes it harder for pollutants to disperse, the state could face even higher pollution levels in the months ahead.Panipat’s 78 µg/m³ monthly average was the highest among 251 cities assessed nationally, while Jind ranked second. Gurgaon and Manesar shared the sixth spot among Haryana cities at 59 µg/m³, with Yamunanagar recording 61.The other five cities in the national top 10 were Khora and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Mandi Gobindgarh in Punjab, Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh and Byrnihat in Assam.Panipat’s poor showing was not the result of a few bad days. It recorded five ‘very poor’, six ‘poor’ and nine ‘moderate’ days during Sept, besides three ‘satisfactory’ and six ‘good’ days. Its monthly average was also higher than the daily PM2.5 national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) of 60 µg/m³, though CREA said the monthly figure itself cannot be treated as a violation of the annual standard.Jind recorded 16 ‘moderate’ and two ‘poor’ days, with the remaining 12 days ‘satisfactory’. It had no ‘good’ day. Gurgaon had one ‘good’, 20 ‘satisfactory’, three ‘moderate’, three ‘poor’ and three ‘very poor’ days.The Gurgaon figures are particularly worrying for NCR residents. In Sept 2025, the city had 10 ‘good’ and 18 ‘satisfactory’ days, plus two ‘moderate’ days, and no ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ day. This year, six days fell in the ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ categories.“The higher pollution levels in Gurgaon point to a combination of local emissions, regional pollution transport and meteorological conditions that limit the dispersion of pollutants. As the city is part of the NCR airshed, its air quality is also influenced by emissions beyond the city’s administrative boundaries,” said Manoj Kumar, air analyst at CREA.Manesar recorded 10 ‘moderate’ and three ‘poor’ days, while Yamunanagar had 13 ‘moderate’ and two ‘poor’ days. Neither city recorded a monthly average above 60.Across 24 Haryana cities with sufficient monitoring data, five were in the ‘moderate’ category, 16 ‘satisfactory’ and three ‘good’. Yet, the state’s cities repeatedly surfaced in the national daily top 10 – Jind on 20 days, Panipat 18, Manesar 16 and Yamunanagar 15.The numbers are crucial because the deterioration came before the peak winter pollution period. CREA analysed cities with at least 80% data availability from continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations, using CPCB data.Nationwide, 230 of 251 cities exceeded WHO’s daily PM2.5 guideline of 15 µg/m³ at least on the analysis basis, showing how widespread particulate pollution remains. Haryana’s concentration in the worst-hit group, however, points to a problem extending beyond NCR to multiple urban centres across the state.
