Delhi world’s most polluted capital, 21 Indian cities in top 30, says report
New Delhi topped the list of most polluted capital cities in the world in 2019, according to a new report, which also revealed that 21 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities were in India. Ghaziabad, meanwhile, had the dubious distinction of being the most polluted city in the world. According to the World Air Quality Report 2019, compiled by IQAir AirVisual, Ghaziabad was followed by Hotan in China, and then Gujranwala and Faisalabad in Pakistan. Delhi took the fifth place. The 21 Indian cities named in the list in the order of their ranking were Ghaziabad, Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Greater Noida, Bandhwari, Lucknow, Bulandshahr, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Jind, Faridabad, Coraut, Bhiwadi, Patna, Palwal, Muzaffarpur, Hisar, Kutail, Jodhpur and Moradabad. As per the country-wise data, India ranked fifth in the world’s most polluted countries with Bangladesh taking the top spot, followed by Pakistan, Mongolia and Afghanistan. The report, however, also mentions that Indian cities have shown improvement compared with last year. “Whilst cities in India, on average, exceed the World Health Organisation target for annual PM2.5 exposure by 500%, national air pollution decreased by 20% from 2018 to 2019 with 98% of the cities experiencing improvement,” the report stated. Frank Hammes, IQAir CEO said, “While coronavirus is dominating international headlines, a silent killer is contributing to nearly seven million more deaths per year that is air pollution. The gap in air quality data in large parts of the world poses a serious problem, as what is not measured cannot be managed.” Avinash Chanchal, senior campaigner at Greenpeace India, said the steps being taken to control pollution were not sufficient. “In Delhi, be it bypass roads, shutting down of Badarpur power plant, shifting industries to PNG and BS-VI mandate have had result in reduction of pollution levels on an annual average basis, but the latest World Air Quality Report is an indication that the steps taken are not sufficient,” he said.
Source: Times of India, 26/02/2020
