It further added, "Several states are in universal non-compliance, where all monitored districts exceed the NAAQS. These include Delhi, Assam, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Jammu and Kashmir. Several other states show a large majority of districts breaching the norm, such as Bihar (37 of 38), West Bengal (22 of 23), Gujarat (32 of 33), Nagaland (11 of 12), Rajasthan (30 of 33), and Jharkhand (21 of 24)."

A second group shows mixed performance, where some districts meet the standard but many continue to exceed it.

This includes Uttar Pradesh (49 of 75 districts exceeding), Odisha (22 of 30), Madhya Pradesh (27 of 52), and Maharashtra (14 of 36). In the Northeast, Arunachal Pradesh (12 exceed, 13 comply) and Manipur (five exceed, 11 comply) also fall in this transitional category.

At the other end of the spectrum, several states have the majority of their districts below NAAQS, such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Sikkim, Goa, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. These contrasting patterns highlight the continued dominance of northern and eastern states in India’s PM 2.5 pollution hotspots, while southern and coastal regions remain relatively cleaner.

The report stated that the states should develop district-level air quality action plans, guided by satellite data to identify hotspots, prioritise high-exposure populations, and allocate mitigation resources efficiently.

The satellite-derived PM 2.5 data should be formally integrated into NCAP for spatially comprehensive assessment and performance tracking.

Also, establishing protocols for validation, periodic updates, and public dissemination of satellite-based estimates will strengthen transparency and enable real-time decision-making in areas lacking ground monitors.