A Greenpeace analysis of satellite data gathered by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration has revealed that India overtook China in terms of air pollution in 2015. The India chapter of the NGO said the average particulate matter exposure in India was higher than that in China for the first time in the century, PTI reported.

"China's strong measures to curb pollution have contributed to the biggest year-on-year air quality improvement on record while in contrast, India's pollution levels continued a decade-long increase to reach the highest level on record," Greenpeace India said in a statement.

In its National Air Quality Index ranking report, the NGO observed that 23 of its 32 stations across India showed levels of air pollution more than 70% above the prescribed Indian standard last year. The report also noted that India has only 39 such stations, while China has 1,500 of them. It said India's particulate pollution increased at an average rate of 2% over the past decade.