By Dr Prashant Thapliyal
Dehradun secured the 12th position nationally in the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2026 for cities with a population between 3 lakh and 10 lakh. It shows an upward trend from 41st in year 2024 and 19th in 2025. The 5th edition of Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan awards were announced by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on Swachh Vayu Diwas (September 7, 2026) under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). Assessment cycle for the survey reflects actions taken up to 2025-26 compared to the 2017-18 baseline. According to recent environmental assessment by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the average ambient PM10 (particulate matter having diameter 10 micrometers or below) were approximately 41µg/m3– 44µg/m3 during optimal monitoring periods, successfully keeping it within the national Ambient Quality Standard and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended daily guideline (24 hour average) of 45 µg/m3. Key focus was given to mitigation of road dust that previously accounted for 55% of the city’s overall particulate pollution and led to spot the extremely high levels of 189µg/m3 at the ISBT Dehradun and 282µg/m3 at Rajpur Road in previous years. Measures such as enhanced mechanical sweeping, strict vehicle checks, dust control suppression, promotion of cleaner transport and public participation led to achieve this feat which is really encouraging.
Changing picture of air pollution in the Doon Valley
At present the air-quality situation presents a mixed picture. On September 17, 2026, one widely reported monitoring source placed Dehradun’s AQI at about 79, in the Moderate category, with PM2.5 around 46 µg/m³ marked above the WHO recommended average daily guideline of 15 µg/m³. On the other hand PM10 level was reported nearly 62 µg/m³. Recent readings have also fluctuated considerably: the reported AQI was 94 on September 10 and 62 on September 9 in 2026. These numbers indicate that Dehradun is not experiencing continuously severe pollution at present, although the air is not consistently within the “Good” category either. The deterioration of Dehradun’s air quality is closely associated with the city’s rapid demographic and physical expansion. Research on Dehradun has identified road and soil dust, vehicular emissions, industrial activity, mixed aerosols and biomass/anthropogenic burning among the major sources of particulate pollution. Importantly, their contribution varies with season. One detailed source-apportionment study found that soil and road dust dominated PM10 during summer, while a mixture of vehicular emissions, biomass and anthropogenic burning became particularly important during winter. Industrial activity was also an important contributor to PM2.5. The problem was intensified by the growth of traffic. At the beginning of 2026, Dehradun recorded an AQI of 316, categorised as “very poor” under the cited reporting system. PM2.5 had reached approximately 329 µg/m³ the previous day. Rapid growth of vehicles is a cause for concern as the vehicular traffic contributes not only through exhaust emissions but also through resuspension of settled road dust and non-exhaust particles from tyres and brakes. Road construction, excavation, poorly maintained roads and inadequate dust suspension is leading to shoot PM10 level. Open burning of biomass, household waste, stubbles at the farm land and other materials add woe to agony in this regard.
Has the situation improved?
According to the magazine ‘Down to Earth’, in 1999 small cities/ towns such as Dehradun and Gajraula in UP were amongst the top polluted urban localities in India. Research evaluating the National Clean Air Programme found a 12% reduction in PM10 concentration in Dehradun between 2019 and 2021. The study associated the improvement with measures addressing vehicle emissions, dust, construction and demolition, biomass burning, waste management, green cover and cleaner fuels. Reported measures included construction of parks, plantation of one lakh trees, cycle tracks and footpaths, dust-suppression fountains, road-water sprinkling, e-auto tippers and composting machines. These developments suggest that the city has moved beyond merely measuring pollution towards a broader air-quality-management programme. The plan called for strengthening the air-quality monitoring network, including additional Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS), along with capacity building and development of technical expertise. The action plan proposed city-wide drives to identify and control polluting vehicles, road sprinkling, better road cleaning, dust suppression and improved management of construction material are among the measures promoted under the clean-air programme. The NCAP framework has emphasised compliance with dust-control requirements at construction and demolition sites, including covering materials and controlling the movement of dust-generating material. Improved collection of municipal waste, restrictions on open burning and mechanised waste management are important components of the strategy. Plantation, green belts and development of parks have received increasing attention. Cleaner and cooler environment in the vicinity of Forest Research Institute (FRI) is privy to it. However, greenery should not be viewed as a substitute for emission reduction. Trees can provide important environmental benefits, but they cannot compensate indefinitely for uncontrolled emissions from vehicles, construction and burning.
From pollution control to pollution prevention
Dehradun’s air quality will depend not only on pollution control equipment but also on urban planning with a move from a largely reactive approach to a preventive one. Instead of waiting for AQI to reach 200, 300 or more before taking action, the city could establish an early-warning and graded-response system based on meteorology and pollution forecasts. Five areas deserve particular attention. 1. Polluttion should be controlled at source by treating separately the vehicle emissions, construction dust, road dust and open burning because they require different interventions. 2. Protecting the city’s natural ventilation and green areas by effective urban planning that considers the ecological and climatic role of open spaces, forests, water bodies and natural drainage/ventilation corridors. 3. Making public transport genuinely attractive with the provision of cleaner buses, better last-mile connectivity, walking infrastructure and cycling facilities that can reduce dependence on private vehicles. 4. Making construction companies accountable for dust-control by issuing advisory and proper periodic checks and enforcement drives. 5. Publish neighbourhood-level information through AQI level indicators at the wards or at the busy neighbourhoods so that the residents understand the gravity of the problem through the pollution hotspots and it also enables authorities to target interventions accordingly.
Conclusion
Dehradun’s air-quality journey is a story of transformation. A city once identified primarily with forests, educational institutions and a pleasant climate has become a rapidly expanding urban centre. Its pollution problem has been created by a combination of local emissions—vehicles, dust, construction, waste and burning—and regional atmospheric influences. The response has also evolved. Air-quality monitoring has expanded, the National Clean Air Programme has provided a framework, vehicle and dust-control measures have been initiated, waste management has improved, and plantation and public-awareness programmes have expanded. The present AQI readings suggest that Dehradun can achieve moderate air quality under favourable conditions. Yet the severe winter episodes show that the underlying problem has not disappeared. The challenge before Dehradun is therefore not merely to clean its air after pollution occurs, but to redesign urban growth so that pollution is prevented at its source.
(Dr Prashant Thapliyal is Associate Professor, Army Cadet College, IMA, Dehradun.)
