Ghaziabad emerges as world’s most polluted city
India has once again topped the list of world’s most polluted cities. Of the 30 cities in the world with the worst air quality, 21 are from India. IQ AirVisual has released the 2019 World Air Quality Report. Its figures show the bad condition of India’s cities.
Ghaziabad most polluted
Ghaziabad of Delhi NCR has emerged as the most polluted city in the world in this list. Average air quality here was 110.2 in 2019. This is highly worrying given the US Environmental Protection Agency’s health standards.
Delhi is the most polluted capital
The air quality index crossed 800 in some areas of Delhi in November. This condition was three times the alarming level. This research has revealed that Delhi is the most polluted national capital of the world. Delhi’s average air quality was recorded at 98.6 in 2019.
PM 2.5 is harmful
Researchers at IQ, a tech company that provides information about air quality at the global level, have collected data from their ground monitoring stations. It measures the level of fine particulate matter of PM 2.5. It contains microscopic particles that are smaller than 2.5 micrometers. These are considered particularly harmful because they are small enough to penetrate the depths of the lungs and the cardiovascular system. PM2.5 contains pollutants such as sulfate, nitrate, and black carbon. Such particles can easily increase lung and heart problems.
Serious crisis in South Asia
Air pollution plagues 27 out of 30 cities in South Asia. These include cities of Pakistan and Bangladesh along with India. Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Raiwind are among the ten most polluted cities of Pakistan. Also, the biggest pollution centers are Delhi, Lahore and Dhaka, which are ranked 5th, 12th and 21st respectively.
The report also raises hope
However, South Asia has seen improvement over the previous year. National air pollution in India decreased by 20 percent from 2018 to 2019, 98 percent of cities have improved at various levels. The most polluted city, Ghaziabad, had an average AQI of 110.2 in 2019. But it was 135.2 in 2018 and 144.6 in 2017. The report also points out the country’s first National Clean Air Program, which aims to reduce PM2.5 and PM10 levels in 20 cities by 20 to 30 percent by 2024 compared to 2017 levels.
