ISLAMABAD: Loni, a small town in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district on the edge of Delhi, has been ranked the world’s most polluted city for 2025, underscoring the scale of India’s air-quality crisis in the National Capital Region, CNN reported on Wednesday.

The ranking comes from IQAir’s World Air Quality Report, which said Loni recorded an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 112.5 micrograms per cubic meter, more than 22 times the World Health Organization guideline of 5 micrograms per cubic meter.

CNN reported that the ranking has cast a spotlight on the health burden borne by residents living amid chronic dust, smoke, and traffic emissions.

IQAir said Loni’s PM2.5 level rose nearly 23% from 2024 levels, making it the worst-performing city in a global dataset covering 9,446 cities across 143 countries, regions and territories. The same report said only 14% of cities worldwide met the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline in 2025, while India ranked as the world’s sixth most polluted country.

It also said the 25 most polluted cities were all in India, Pakistan and China, with India home to three of the four worst-affected cities.

The report places Loni at the center of a wider pollution belt stretching across Delhi-NCR. New Delhi remained the world’s most polluted capital, while nearby NCR cities such as Ghaziabad and Noida also ranked among the world’s worst.

Indian media reports and local accounts have pointed to a combination of vehicular emissions, industrial activity, road and construction dust, waste burning, brick kilns and seasonal weather conditions that trap pollutants close to the ground.

For residents, the ranking reflects an everyday health emergency rather than a statistical distinction.

CNN’s ground report described coughing and breathlessness as routine complaints, while scene-setting from the area highlighted damaged roads, dust-laden traffic corridors and nearby construction.

The findings are likely to intensify pressure on authorities to strengthen enforcement against open burning, illegal polluting units and uncontrolled dust sources in the region.

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Loni, world’s most polluted city, in India: Report