HYDERABAD: Hyderabad is the most polluted south Indian city, revealed the 5th Annual IQAir World Air Quality Report 2022 released on Tuesday. The report also stated that India was the 8th most polluted country with an annual average PM2.5 level in 2022 at 53.3 μg/m3, lower than the 2021 average of 58.1 μg/m3. The 2022 World Air Quality Report reviews the status of air quality around the world for 2022. This report presents PM2.5 air quality data from 7,323 cities across 131 countries. India and Pakistan generally experience the worst air quality in the Central and South Asia region.
Among the six metropolitan cities — New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad — the capital cities of Karnataka and Telangana saw the highest rise in pollution levels, the report mentioned. Meanwhile, New Delhi registered the highest pollution level, followed by Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai. New Delhi was also adjudged the second most polluted city in the world with an average PM 2.5 level at 89.1 μg/m3.
The annual PM2.5 level in Hyderabad went up from 39.4 μg/m3 in 2021 to 42.4 μg/m3 in 2022, which exceeds the WHO’s guidelines by over 10 times. The capital city of Telangana recorded the highest PM2.5 concentration of 72 μg/m3 in November, followed by 61.3 μg/m3 in December.
Recently, P Krishna Reddy, a data science professor at the International Institute of Information Technology- Hyderabad (IIIT-H), said, “High construction activity, vehicular pollution caused by burning fossil fuels, incomplete concrete roads and garbage burning are the primary contributors to the high levels of PM2.5 in Hyderabad.”
“These pollution levels have a significant impact on public health, leading to pulmonary diseases, heart attacks and other life-threatening problems. Since air is a primary requirement for human survival, it also affects people’s energy levels and lifestyles,” he said.
The report also highlighted that the transportation sector’s contribution to PM2.5 levels varies from 20 to 35 per cent across Indian cities. A 2021 study shows that global and regional estimates agree on the leading sources of air pollution in India, but they vary significantly in terms of uncertainty associated with these estimations. The highest variations in the estimated emissions are related to power plants, transportation and agricultural residue burning.
Krishna added that controlling pollution requires a multi-disciplinary approach and civil society and administration must work towards providing clean air to Hyderabad’s growing population. Since air pollution in the city has reached alarming levels, appropriate actions must be taken before the situation becomes uncontrollable, he added.