What is emissions of air pollutants in India?

Emissions of air pollutants in India was 9.56 million tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest emissions of air pollutants recorded in India?

The highest recorded value was 10.05 million tonnes in 2018.

What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in India?

The lowest recorded value was 30,488 tonnes in 1750.

How does India rank for emissions of air pollutants?

India ranks 2nd out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in India?

Over the last ten years it is up 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this India data come from?

The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Emissions of air pollutants in India

Name: Emissions of air pollutants in India
Creator: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

India: Emissions of air pollutants was 9.56 million tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

9.56 million tonnes

Change on year

up 3.5%

World rank

2nd

of 220 countries

All-time high

10.05 million tonnes

in 2018

All-time low

30,488 tonnes

in 1750

Years of data

273

1750–2022

Emissions of air pollutants in India, 1750–2022

Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

India recorded 9.56 million tonnes for emissions of air pollutants in 2022.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.5% on the previous year and up 6.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, emissions of air pollutants in India peaked at 10.05 million tonnes in 2018 and was at its lowest, 30,488 tonnes, in 1750.

India ranks 2nd of 220 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1750s	30,757 tonnes	30,488 tonnes	31,026 tonnes	10
1760s	31,359 tonnes	31,086 tonnes	31,632 tonnes	10
1770s	31,970 tonnes	31,693 tonnes	32,247 tonnes	10
1780s	32,590 tonnes	32,309 tonnes	32,871 tonnes	10
1790s	33,219 tonnes	32,933 tonnes	33,504 tonnes	10
1800s	34,060 tonnes	33,567 tonnes	34,555 tonnes	10
1810s	35,170 tonnes	34,665 tonnes	35,677 tonnes	10
1820s	36,430 tonnes	35,790 tonnes	37,073 tonnes	10
1830s	38,209 tonnes	37,217 tonnes	39,206 tonnes	10
1840s	40,474 tonnes	39,429 tonnes	41,525 tonnes	10
1850s	43,201 tonnes	41,859 tonnes	45,739 tonnes	10
1860s	46,821 tonnes	45,920 tonnes	47,946 tonnes	10
1870s	50,404 tonnes	48,124 tonnes	55,932 tonnes	10
1880s	63,780 tonnes	57,090 tonnes	73,615 tonnes	10
1890s	85,044 tonnes	75,687 tonnes	97,450 tonnes	10
1900s	141,734 tonnes	103,716 tonnes	184,079 tonnes	10
1910s	216,820 tonnes	175,892 tonnes	261,032 tonnes	10
1920s	252,982 tonnes	234,317 tonnes	271,003 tonnes	10
1930s	256,624 tonnes	235,961 tonnes	289,110 tonnes	10
1940s	318,852 tonnes	301,286 tonnes	335,624 tonnes	10
1950s	535,309 tonnes	417,026 tonnes	675,861 tonnes	10
1960s	916,624 tonnes	712,090 tonnes	1.13 million tonnes	10
1970s	1.53 million tonnes	1.20 million tonnes	1.89 million tonnes	10
1980s	2.56 million tonnes	2.00 million tonnes	3.37 million tonnes	10
1990s	4.54 million tonnes	3.54 million tonnes	5.47 million tonnes	10
2000s	6.42 million tonnes	5.56 million tonnes	8.02 million tonnes	10
2010s	9.32 million tonnes	8.33 million tonnes	10.05 million tonnes	10
2020s	9.18 million tonnes	8.74 million tonnes	9.56 million tonnes	3

Countries ranked near India

1 China 20.99 million tonnes compare
3 United States 9.00 million tonnes compare
4 Indonesia 5.51 million tonnes compare
5 Russia 4.85 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More environment data for India

Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 4,371 Mt CO2e (2024)
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 3.01 t CO2e/capita (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 572.27 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 37.74 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 108.11 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 4.39 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 861.61 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 1.01 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 2.4 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 135.23 Mt CO2e (2024)

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is emissions of air pollutants in India?: Emissions of air pollutants in India was 9.56 million tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest emissions of air pollutants recorded in India?: The highest recorded value was 10.05 million tonnes in 2018.
What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in India?: The lowest recorded value was 30,488 tonnes in 1750.
How does India rank for emissions of air pollutants?: India ranks 2nd out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in India?: Over the last ten years it is up 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this India data come from?: The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 273 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Emissions of air pollutants
Unit: tonnes
Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 220 places, 60,060 data points, 1750–2022
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) are gases that are mainly formed during the burning of fossil fuels. Exposure to NOₓ gases can have negative impacts on respiratory health. NOₓ gases can also lead to the formation of ozone – another air pollutant.