Delhi most polluted capital

New Delhi, March 22

Delhi continues to be the world’s most polluted capital for the fourth consecutive year and 35 of the 50 cities with the worst air quality are in India, says the World Air Quality Report for 2021.

India, in fact, was home to 11 of the 15 most polluted cities in Central and South Asia in 2021, according to the report prepared by Swiss organisation IQAir

Five such capitals

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• Delhi (India)
• Dhaka (Bangladesh)
• N’Djamena (Chad)
• Dushanbe (Tajikistan)
• Muscat (Oman)

India fares poorly

• 35 of the 50 cities with the worst air quality are in India
• 11 of the 15 most polluted cities of Central and South Asia are in India
• 3%of the world’s cities meet the latest WHO air quality norms; but no country meets the yardstick

5 most polluted cities in world

• Bhiwadi (Rajasthan)
• Ghaziabad (UP)
• Hotan (China)
• Delhi
• Jaunpur (UP)

“Delhi saw a 14.6 per cent increase in PM2.5 concentration in 2021 with levels rising to 96.4 µg/m3 from 84 µg/m3 in 2020. No city in India met World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guideline of 5 µg/m3. In 2021, 48 per cent of India’s cities exceeded 50 µg/m3, or more than 10 times the WHO guideline,” it said.

While Delhi’s air pollution ranks No. 4 globally, world’s most polluted place, as per the report, is Rajasthan’s Bhiwadi, followed by Ghaziabad (UP) on Delhi’ border. At number three is Hotan (China).

Ten of the top 15 most polluted cities are in India, largely around the national capital. Noida is at number seven, while Hisar, Faridabad and Rohtak in Haryana are ranked 11, 12 and 14, respectively. Greater Noida ranks 13th in the top 15 with the remaining four being in neighboring Pakistan.

“Thirty-five of the 50 most polluted cities are in India where annual average PM2.5 levels reached 58.1 µg/m3 in 2021,” the report said.

On the global front, only 3 per cent cities and no country met the latest WHO PM2.5 annual air quality guideline.

“Air pollution has a massive impact on human health in India. It is the second biggest risk factor for disease, and the economic cost of air pollution is estimated to exceed $150 billion annually,” it says.

Major sources of air pollution in India include vehicular emissions, power generation, industrial waste, construction and episodic events like stubble burning.