Indore falls from first to second in Clean Air Survey—here's which city took the top spot

The local administration has blamed PM10 particles—dangerous airborne particles—for vehicle heavy Indore's slide from first place to second in the 2026 Clean Air Survey and has announced intensified measures to reduce air pollution in India's cleanest city.

In the survey, Indore, Madhya Pradesh's commercial capital, scored 197 out of 200 in the category of cities with a population of over 1 million, while Lucknow ranked first with 198 points.

Jabalpur ranked third with 195 points, while Bhopal and Agra tied for fourth with 192 points each.

Indore, which topped the list with a score of 200 out of 200 in the 2025 survey, fell just one point short of Lucknow and failed to retain its position.

Lucknow takes top spot

The Uttar Pradesh capital, besides Odisha's Rourkela and Kalinga Nagar, emerged as top performers under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), with Union environment ministry honouring their efforts at the fifth edition of the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan Awards on Monday.

Cities and towns nationwide were ranked based on the Swachh Vayu Survekshan Framework released in 2022-23, which laid down measures to tackle road dust, vehicular emissions, and industrial pollution, among others.

Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava told PTI on Tuesday, "We scored one point lower than Lucknow in the survey due to (the city) lagging behind in PM10 particle standards."

Vehicle pollution under focus

Indore is the city with the highest vehicle density in Madhya Pradesh.

Bhargava assured steps will be taken throughout the year to reduce pollution from traffic and industries in the city, including PM10 particles.

He said public awareness initiatives like "Red Light On, Engine Off" at traffic signals, promotion of electric vehicles, and operation of e-buses will be accelerated to curb vehicular pollution.

Bhargava maintained concrete efforts will also be made to convert all vehicles collecting garbage from door-to-door to electric ones and to shift factories from diesel to green fuels like CNG.

What is PM10?

PM10 (Particulate Matter-10) are ultra-fine particles present in the air with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less. These particles are produced by vehicle exhaust, road dust, and industrial emissions and enter the human respiratory system through breathing.

The key parameters of the Clean Air Survey include measures taken by urban bodies to reduce PM10 levels.

Indore's air quality remains strong

Officials said despite lagging behind Lucknow by just one point in the Clean Air Survey, Indore's overall air quality record remains strong.

According to Indore Municipal Corporation data, the city recorded a decline of more than 15 per cent in PM10 levels compared to previous years, with the annual average PM10 level this year being around 81 micrograms per cubic meter.

The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) set the annual average level of PM10 in air at 60 micrograms per cubic meter for residential, industrial, and rural areas.

According to municipal corporation data, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Indore remained below 200 on average on more than 98 per cent of the days during the Clean Air Survey evaluation period.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'Good', 51 to 100 'Satisfactory', 101 to 200 'Moderate', 201 to 300 'Poor', 301 to 400 'Very Poor', and 401 to 500 'Severe'.

700 km of roads swept daily

Municipal corporation officials said to control dust, approximately 700 kilometres of roads in the city are being swept daily with machines and various measures are being taken to dispose of construction waste.

Indore has topped the National Sanitation Survey, a separate ranking competition of cities conducted by the central government, for eight consecutive times.