Top 10 Indian cities with cleanest air: Aizawl tops, 2 TN cities in list

Mizoram’s capital Aizawl was the cleanest city in terms of air quality in the first half of 2025, according to a new analysis released on Friday (July 11).

Also read: Top 10 most polluted Indian cities list

According to the analysis by independent research organisation Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Aizawl was No. 1 in the top 10 cities with the cleanest air from January to June 2025.

2 TN cities in top 10

Aizawl had an average PM2.5 (particulate matter) of 8 micrograms per cubic meter. The top 10 cleanest cities comprise three cities from Karnataka, two each from Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, and one each from Mizoram, Manipur, and Madhya Pradesh.

Tamil Nadu’s Tirupur and Tirunelveli occupy the second the third spots in the cleanest city list, followed by Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Maihar (Madhya Pradesh) and Madikeri (Karnataka).

43 cities with 'good' air quality

In the first half of 2025, the number of cities with ʻGoodʼ (0-30 micrograms per cubic meter) air quality stood at 43.

Meanwhile, cities experiencing ʻSatisfactoryʼ (31-60 micrograms per cubic meter) air quality were recorded at 174. Additionally, 21 cities reported ʻModerateʼ (61-90 micrograms per cubic meter) air quality while one city had ʻVery Poorʼ (121-250 micrograms per cubic meter).

CREA said that from January to June 2025, PM2.5 data was available for over 80 per cent of the days in 239 out of 293 cities with Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS).

Among 239 cities, 122 cities exceeded the annual National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of India (40 micrograms per cubic meter), while 117 cities were below the annual NAAQS. However, all 239 cities exceeded the annual World Health Organization (WHO) standard (5 micrograms per cubic meter).

Top 10 cleanest cities in India by PM2.5 concentration – January to June 2025