Delhi ranks again as the most polluted capital city in world

New Delhi, March 17: In a very shocking development for India, as nearly 22 of the world's 30 most polluted cities are in India. More interestingly,  according to a report by a Swiss organisation India's capital Delhi has ranked as the most polluted capital city globally for the third straight year in 2020. 

 

The 'World Air Quality Report 2020' stated that India has observed markedly improved air quality in 2020, however, the country continues to still feature prominently at the top of the most polluted cities ranking, with 22 of the top 30 most polluted cities globally.

 

The report said that Delhi's air quality improved by approximately 15 percent from 2019 to 2020. However, the city is still ranked as the 10th most polluted city in the world and the most polluted capital.

 

The report on its website added, Delhi’s most polluted months correlate with the agricultural burning season, which spans October through December. During these months, average pollution exposure often exceeds the WHO annual target (10 μg/m3) by more than 14 times.

 

 

The eight Indian cities in the top 10 list are -- Bulandshahar, Bisrakh Jalalpur, Noida, Greater Noida, Kanpur, Lucknow (all in UP), Bhiwari in Rajasthan, and Delhi. Apart from these, the other Indian cities among the 30 most polluted cities in the world include Meerut, Agra, and Muzaffarnagar (all in Uttar Pradesh), Faridabad, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad, Bandhwari, Gurugram, Yamuna Nagar, Rohtak, and Dharuhera (all in Haryana), and Muzaffarpur in Bihar.

 

The global cities ranking report is based on PM2.5 data from 106 countries, which is measured by ground-based monitoring stations, most of which are operated by government agencies. The report also reveals the impact of COVID-19 lockdown and behavioral changes on global particulate pollution (PM2.5) levels.

 

According to the report's major sources of India's air pollution include transportation, biomass burning for cooking, electricity generation, industry, construction, waste burning, and episodic agricultural burning. "The transportation sector is one of the major contributors to India's leading PM2.5 emission sources across cities, the report said.

 

Notably, India was home to 35 of the world’s 50 most polluted cities in 2020, according to IQAir’s 2020 World Air Quality Report.

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