Swiss air quality technology firm, IQAir, recently launched a report called 'World Air Quality Report' 2022. The report presented data on fine particles, or PM2.5 air quality, accessing 7,300 cities across 131 countries. The report uses the average recorded annual PM2.5 concentration in micrograms per cubic meter, to rank the world’s top 10 most polluted countries.
As per the report, India has been ranked at the eighth spot in the most polluted countries around the world. India, however, has improved its ranking from the fifth to the eighth place, dropping by three spots on the list. The report noted that India's annual average PM 2.5 level in 2022 was 53.3 ug/m, which was slightly lower than that in 2021, at an average of 58.1. Both in 2021 and 2022, as many as 12 cities made it to the 15 most polluted cities in Central and South Asia.
Furthermore, when it comes to Indian cities, 39 of them made it to the report’s 50 most polluted cities in the world. Delhi, a city that battles a severe air quality problem, stood at fourth place in the list, with its PM2.5 level, at almost 20 times the safe limit. Bihar's Darbhanga was ranked the most polluted just after Delhi, whereas Bhiwadi in Rajasthan was ranked the most polluted city in India. Regions around Delhi, such as Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad, saw a decline in pollution levels, as per the report. Six more Indian cities made it to the top 10 most polluted cities list, as well. Similarly, there were 14 Indian cities in the top 20 list, 39 in the top 50 list and as many as 65 in the top 100 list.
Of all the Indian cities, Chennai was the cleanest in terms of pollution, still at five times the WHO’s safe level.
Image used for representational purposes only.