Pune has ranked 12th among cities with a population of more than 10 lakh in the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2026, scoring 183 out of 200. The annual survey by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change assesses cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) on the steps taken to reduce air pollution.
The city’s position has slipped by two ranks compared with last year. Pune was ranked 10th in the 2025 survey with 185 points, while its score this year has fallen by two points to 183.
Lucknow topped the 2026 rankings in the million-plus population category with 198 points, followed by Indore with 197 and Jabalpur with 195. Bhopal and Agra shared the fourth rank with 192 points, while Surat was fifth with 191.
Among Maharashtra cities in the same category, Thane ranked seventh with 187 points, Navi Mumbai ninth with 184 and Nagpur 10th with 183.8. Pune followed at 12th with 183 points. Vasai-Virar ranked 15th with 179, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar 16th with 178, Mumbai 28th with 160.8 and Nashik 29th with 160.2.
The ranking, however, should not be read simply as a list of Indian cities with the cleanest air. Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan mainly assesses the work carried out by cities to control pollution and implement their clean-air action plans. Measures related to waste management, road dust, construction and demolition dust, vehicular emissions and industrial pollution form part of the assessment. Reduction in PM10 concentration carries only a small part of the overall weightage.
This distinction is relevant in Pune’s case. The city’s annual average PM10 concentration during 2025-26 was 97 micrograms per cubic metre, above the national annual standard of 60 micrograms per cubic metre. None of the major metros cited in the latest survey met this annual PM10 standard.
Pune Municipal Corporation has been using several measures to tackle pollution from construction and other sources. These include sensor-based monitoring at large construction sites and a clean-air monitoring portal that tracks sensors, violations and performance across different parts of the city. Road dust, construction activity and vehicle emissions continue to be among the pollution sources the city has to address.
Pune also received recognition at the ward level this year. PMC’s Ward 4 and Ward 7 were selected for state-level recognition under the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan. The selected wards are to receive financial support from the Maharashtra government for measures to control pollution and improve air quality.
Ward-level assessment was introduced as part of the 2026 exercise, covering more than 7,400 wards across the country. Ten wards received national-level awards across three population categories, while 69 wards from 23 states and Union Territories were also selected for recognition at the state level.
Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan was launched in 2022-23 and annually assesses 130 cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme. The programme tracks action against major sources of pollution and implementation of city-specific clean-air plans. The latest results show that while Pune remains among the better-performing large cities on pollution-control measures, bringing particulate pollution within the national standard remains a separate challenge.
