NEW DELHI: Sixty-three of the world's 100 most polluted cities are in India, according to the World Air Quality Report 2021, prepared by Swiss organisation IQAir, released on Tuesday. Delhi remains the most polluted capital city in the world for the fourth consecutive year.
The report said Delhi tops the list of capitals with the highest average annual PM2.5 concentration. It is followed by Dhaka (Bangladesh), N'Djamena (Chad), Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Muscat (Oman). None of the cities in India meet the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guideline of 5 micrograms per cubic metre, the report said.
"India's annual PM2.5 averages have returned to pre-quarantine concentrations as measured in 2019,” the report said, adding that in 2021, 48 per cent of Indian cities exceeded 50µg/m3, or more than 10 times the WHO guideline. The report is based on PM2.5 data from 6,475 cities in 117 countries worldwide.
Sixty-three Indian cities dominated the list of 100 most polluted cities. Half of them are in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Bhiwadi in Rajasthan's Alwar is the most polluted regional city, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 106.2 micrograms per cubic metre, followed by Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad.
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Central and South Asia have some of the worst air quality and were home to 46 of the world's 50 most polluted cities in 2021.
The report also noted that air quality in China continued to improve in 2021. Capital Beijing continued a five-year trend of improved air quality, which was driven by emission control and reduction of coal power plant activity and other high-emission industries.
The report mentioned that the cleanest air measured in India is in Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu, but even that is thrice the WHO's safe levels. "Air pollution is now considered the world's largest environmental health threat, accounting for seven million deaths around the world every year," it said.
