Lucknow has emerged as India’s cleanest city in the 2026 Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan, taking the top position among cities with a population of more than 10 lakh.
The Uttar Pradesh capital scored 198 out of 200 points, narrowly moving ahead of Indore, which had topped the survey in 2025 with a perfect score. Indore scored 197 points this year and finished second, while Jabalpur secured third place with 195 points.
Bhopal and Agra shared the fourth position with 192 points each. Surat, Raipur, Thane, Chandigarh and Rajkot completed the top 10 in the largest population category.
Delhi, despite being the national capital, ranked 21st with 172 points. Mumbai stood at 28th with 160.8 points. Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata performed lower in the same assessment, ranking 32nd, 35th and 38th respectively.
The survey assesses cities across three population categories — those with more than 10 lakh residents, those with 3 lakh to 10 lakh residents, and cities with fewer than 3 lakh residents.
In the 3-10 lakh category, Rourkela topped the list, followed by Firozabad, Guntur, Amravati and Bhubaneswar. Jhansi, Alwar, Latur, Moradabad and Noida also featured in the top 10, with Noida securing the eighth position.
Among cities with populations below three lakh, Kalinga Nagar took the top spot. Angul and Talcher followed, while Eluru and Haldia completed the top five.
Particulate matter, particularly PM10, remains one of the key challenges in improving air quality. PM10 particles can originate from vehicle emissions, road dust and industrial activity and can affect the respiratory system when inhaled.
Indore’s performance this year was affected by its PM10 levels. According to municipal data, the city recorded an annual average PM10 concentration of around 81 micrograms per cubic metre. While this was more than 15% lower than previous years, it remained above the National Ambient Air Quality Standards annual limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre.
Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava said the city lost the top spot by just one point because of its performance on PM10 standards.
The Indore civic body plans to strengthen anti-pollution measures, including promoting electric vehicles, expanding e-bus services and encouraging industries to shift from diesel to cleaner fuels. It also plans to introduce electric vehicles for door-to-door garbage collection.
Officials said mechanical sweeping is being carried out across around 700 km of roads every day to control road dust, while efforts are also underway to improve construction-waste management.
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