India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Chad, Congo Breaths Dirtiest Air.
A new report has found that most of the world has dirty air, and out of 130 countries the study analysed, Chad, Congo, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India were found to have the dirtiest air.
The report by Switzerland-based air quality monitoring database IQ analysed data from 40,000 air quality monitoring stations in 138 countries and concluded that only 17% of cities were meeting air pollution guidelines in the world.
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The report stated that 13 out of the 20 most polluted cities are in India, suggesting an alarming trend plaguing the country. Byrnihat, an industrial town in India’s north-eastern state of Meghalaya in India is the world’s most polluted place, the report notes, adding that the annual average PM2.5 concentration was 128.2 micrograms/cubic metre in the area.
PM2.5 comes from sources like the combustion of fossil fuels, dust storms and wildfires. It is so tiny – 1/20th of the width of a human hair – that it can travel past human body’s usual defenses into the lungs or bloodstream. There are multiple risk factors, and these particles can cause irritation and inflammation, which can lead to respiratory problems and chronic kidney disease. In addition, the exposure can cause cancer, stroke or heart attacks and has also been associated with a higher risk of depression and anxiety.
According to the experts, the reality could be even more dangerous as there are many places without adequate air quality monitoring stations. Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) discovered that 99% of the world’s population lives in places that do not meet recommended air quality levels.
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However, Delhi continues to be the world’s most polluted capital city, and the pollution level rose in Delhi by 6% to 108.3 micrograms/cubic metre last year, the highest since 2019. Most of the cities with worse air quality in India are located in the northern part of India, including in Punjab and West Bengal, where meteorological factors trap pollutants and exacerbate winter smog. Meanwhile, China has, to an extent, been found to have improved air quality in big cities, including in Beijing. Several other countries, including Seoul, South Korea, and Rybnik in Poland, have also improved their air quality through regulations on pollution from vehicles, power plants and industry.
Delhi’s poor air pollution is often attributed to vehicular emissions, exacerbated by traffic congestion and fuel adulteration. Industrial and construction activities and seasonal burning of agricultural residue contribute to the worsening air quality in the national capital.
