According to the 2018 World Air Quality Report, 22 of the world’s 30 worst cities with air pollution are in India.
By Robin Gomes
India has an alarming air pollution problem with 22 of the world’s 30 worst cities in the country, according to a new study.
India’s heavy burden
The 2018 World Air Quality Report by Greenpeace and AirVisual Analysis, released on March 5, showed Delhi continuing to rank first among the world’s 62 worst capitals. Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Kabul (Afghanistan) are among other Asian capitals with polluted air.
The most polluted city in the world is Gurugram (formerly Gurgaon) in India’s Haryana state, a technological hub in the southwest of Delhi, the Indian capital.
It is followed by Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh state and Faisalabad (in Pakistan). Delhi ranks 11th among the worst cities.
Among other Indian cities are Faridabad, Bhiwadi, Noida, Patna, Lucknow, Jodhpur, Muzaffarpur, Varanasi, Moradabad, Agra, Gaya and Jind.
The Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, is the most polluted European city. London is the 48th most polluted capital.
The report is accompanied by AirVisual’s online interactive display map of the world’s most polluted cities, allowing further exploration of air quality across different regions and sub-regions in 2018.
7 million deaths a year
A study by the World Health Organization (WHO) in May revealed that 7 million people die each year because of exposure to ambient (outdoor) and household air pollution. The World Bank calculated the cost to the world economy in lost labour as $225bn.
