Tuesday, 14 April 2026
Tuesday, 14 April 2026
IQAir's 2025 World Air Quality Report, which analysed data from over 9,400 cities across 143 countries, found Loni recording an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 112.5 micrograms per cubic metre, which is more than 22 times the WHO-recommended safe limit.
This is the same place in mythology where Lakshmana cut off the nose of Shoorpankha,
On paper, it is an alarming number, but on the ground, it is business as usual in Loni. As one enters the city on a single road, the traffic begins to crawl. Old buildings and shops line both sides of the road, their facades darkened by time and dust.
Brick kilns, dyeing and metal processing units, unauthorised industrial clusters running on dirty fuels, rampant burning of toxic e-waste -- the pollution levels keep hitting alarming levels, leaving the residents gasping for breath as a toxic, harmful and suffocating concoction of gases and smell goes straight to the lungs of the over seven lakh people who live there.
Adding to that, the heavy flow of diesel trucks using Loni as a transit corridor between Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh, dense clouds of dust that rise due to ongoing construction in and around the region and the regular burning of waste, including plastics.
Worsening the woes is the relentless stream of emissions from the massive number of vehicles going in and out of Loni on a daily basis.
Mahendar (62), who has been living in Loni for over four decades, says the e-waste from bordering areas of UP and also the national capital is dumped in Loni and burnt at night.
"It gets impossible to breathe on some nights because there is unchecked burning of e-waste. We have raised several complaints, but nothing happens. The fumes are toxic and during the day, the dust from vehicles, as well as trucks carrying sand, keeps the air hazy... coughing is not seasonal here, it is a year-round thing," he told PTI.
When this PTI reporter visited parts of Loni, remains of e-waste could be seen dumped on the roadside with heaps of garbage containing plastic waste here and there.
Bobby Tyagi, who does farming in the area, said the government only wants to crackdown on stubble burning, but there are so many other sources of pollution which are even more hazardous.
"The crops are impacted, the water quality is worse, but whenever the pollution issue is raised, the farmers are penalised, and the action is limited to just hue and cry over stubble burning. My children have moved to other cities because in the last five years, living here has become unbearable," he said.
People on roads with covered faces are a common sight, as is garbage and dust.
"The air purifiers cannot be of any help here as the filters have to be changed every two months. Only a few houses have them. Nobody uses balconies or terraces here as the burning smell and dust make it difficult," said 24-year-old Trishna, who is studying architecture at a Delhi college and commutes daily.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said it is unfortunate that Uttar Pradesh's Loni has been reduced to being the world's most polluted city.
He said Loni near Ghaziabad is steeped in Indian mythology as well as history.
"It has many important places of worship reflecting India’s composite culture. It figures in the Ramayana as well. There are also some lovely gardens and orchards there," Ramesh said.
Loni sits in the Indo-Gangetic Plain. According to local tradition and mythological accounts, Loni was the seat of the demon king Lavanasura (or Lavana), who was a contemporary of Lord Rama.
It is also believed to be the historical site where Lord Rama's brother, Lakshmana, chopped off the nose of the demoness Surpanakha.
The former environment minister stressed that the National Clean Air Program needs a complete revamp to focus sharply on the reduction of PM2.5 levels, which has become a severe public health disaster across the country.
The UP Pollution Control Board (UPCB) has formed monitoring teams to crackdown on illegal and polluting industries.
Vipul Kumar, Assistant Environment Engineer, Regional Office, UPCB, told PTI that over 120 illegal industries operating in the area have been sealed since March.
"Last year, the AQI levels were also high because of the construction of highways, as the dust was everywhere. The waste that comes all the way from Delhi is burnt illegally, and there are industries operating in residential areas… since March, we have sealed 120 of them," he said.
"We have formed several monitoring teams, and all polluting activities are being monitored," he added.
