Context
According to an air quality report released by a Swiss organization, IQAir, 22 of the 30 most polluted cities in the world, including 14 in the top 15, are in India.
Key Findings of the Report
- Most Polluted: Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh is the most polluted with an average annual PM 2.5 levels of 106.6ug/m3.
- It is the second most polluted city in the world after Hotan in China (110.2 ug/m3).
- Most Polluted Capital: New Delhi was the world’s most polluted capital for the third straight year
- Delhi ranked as the 10th most polluted city and the top polluted capital city in the world.
- High level of pollution:The levels of pollution are still “dangerously high” despite restriction after Covid-19.
- Cites with major pollution level:Besides Delhi, the 21 other Indian cities among the 30 most polluted cities in the world are:
- Ghaziabad, Bulandshahar, BisrakhJalalpur, Noida, Greater Noida, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Agra, and Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, Bhiwari in Rajasthan, Faridabad, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad, Bandhwari, Gurugram, Yamuna Nagar, Rohtak, and Dharuhera in Haryana, and Muzaffarpur in Bihar.
- Top polluted in India: Ghaziabad is the second most polluted city in the world followed by Bulandshahar, BisrakhJalalpur, Noida, Greater Noida, Kanpur, Lucknow, and Bhiwari.
- Major sources of India’s air pollution: According to the report, it includes
- Transportation
- biomass burning for cooking
- electricity generation
- industry
- construction
- waste burning
- episodic agricultural burning
About IQAir report
- IQAir report is released by a Swiss air quality technology company IQair, specializing in protection against airborne pollutants, developing air quality monitoring, and air cleaning products.
- o IQAir also operates AirVisual, a real-time air quality information platform.
- 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.
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