India: Delhi tops the list of the most populated capital cities consequently for the fourth year now, as per the 2021 World Air Quality Report, a Swiss group that measures air quality levels based on the concentration of lung-damaging airborne particles known as PM2.5.
“India was home to 11 of the 15 most polluted cities in Central and South Asia in 2021. Delhi saw a 14.6 per cent increase in PM2.5 concentrations in 2021 with levels rising to 96.4 µg/m3 from 84 µg/m3 in 2020,” the report said.
“No cities in India met the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guideline of 5 µg/m3. In 2021, 48 per cent of India’s cities exceeded 50 µg/m3, or more than 10 times the WHO guideline.” It reads.
According to the report, “Central and South Asia had some of the world’s worst air quality and was home to 46 of the world’s 50 most polluted cities” in 2021.
In the Central and South Asia region, including India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Bhiwadi in Rajasthan’s Alwar was the most polluted regional city, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 106.2 microgram per cubic metre.
Reportedly, Air pollution caused an estimated 54,000 premature deaths in New Delhi in 2020, according to a recent study by Greenpeace Southeast Asia Analysis and IQAir.
