<p>Air pollution is a global concern in present decade due to its heavy environmental and health impacts. This study analyses the spatiotemporal distribution of criteria air pollutants (PM₁₀, PM_2.5, NO₂, SO₂, CO, and O₃) in India from 2019 to 2023 at state and city levels. Among the pollutants, PM levels were the highest measured percentage such as PM₁₀ at 48% and PM_2.5 at 22%. In India, exceedance days for PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 are 300 and 170&#xa0;days in&#xa0;a year respectively. The percentage of states/ union territories (UTs) that exceeded NAAQS and WHO guidelines is about 55% and 100% (31 States/UTs) for PM_2.5, and&#xa0;74% and 100% surpassed the PM₁₀ limit. At a city level, 175 (64%) and 226 (83%) cities exceeded the NAAQS limits for PM_2.5 and PM₁₀, while all 272 cities (100%) failed to meet the WHO guidelines. Indo-Gangetic Basin showed elevated AQI levels and fall under the critical pollution category. PCA study shows that PM_2.5, CO, PM_10, and NO₂ have a typical mix of pollution sources in India. Seasonal variations revealed that pollutant levels peaked during winter and were lowest in monsoon. The SO₂/NO₂ ratio shows that the north-eastern states have stationary sources, whereas India's north, central and east regions have mobile sources predominant. The correlation and regression analysis highlight temperature as the most influential factor explaining 43.2% of pollutant variability. The health risk assessments estimate 132890 adult cases attributable to PM_2.5 in India, and ischemic heart disease (69.26%) is predominant during 2019 to 2023. Uttar Pradesh exhibits the highest disease burden. Finally, the study shows that the northeastern states report lower disease incidences and air pollution than the northern, central, and eastern states. These findings emphasize the necessity for region-specific air quality management strategies and this study helps government strengthen policy frameworks and implement evidence-based mitigation measures.</p>