by THO
NEW DELHI: India was the third most polluted country in 2023 after Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to the World Air Quality Report based on data from the Swiss firm IQAir. India’s annual PM 2.5 was 54.4µg/m3 compared to Pakistan’s 73.7µg/m3 and Bangladesh’s 79.9µg/m3.
India’s annual PM 2.5 average was 53.3µg/m3 in 2022 when it was the eighth most polluted country. It was 58.1µg/m3 in 2021. The report, which was released on Tuesday and is based on data from over 30,000 air quality monitoring stations across 7,812 locations in 134 countries, territories, and regions, said 42 of the world’s most polluted 50 cities are in India.
New Delhi (92.7µg/m3) was the most polluted capital city globally. Begusarai (118.9µg/m3) was the most polluted in India followed by Guwahati (105.4µg/m3).
The Union Territory of Delhi had an average PM 2.5 concentration of 102.1µg/m3, making it the third most polluted worldwide. New Delhi (92.7µg/m3) was the sixth most polluted.
Mullanpur (100.4µg/m3) in Punjab and Pakistan’s Lahore (99.5µg/m3) were the fourth and fifth most polluted places.
Greater Noida (88.6µg/m3) was the most polluted, ranking 11th, across the National Capita Region after Delhi. Gurugram (84µg/m3) was next at 17th.
The report said seven of the 134 countries—Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius, and New Zealand—met the World Health Organization annual PM 2.5 average of 5µg/m3 or less.
Greenpeace International senior air quality scientist Aidan Farrow said the report illustrates the international nature and inequitable consequences of the enduring air pollution crisis. “Local, national, and international effort is urgently needed to monitor air quality in under-resourced places, manage the causes of transboundary haze, and cut our reliance on combustion as an energy source,” he said.
“In 2023, air pollution remained a global health catastrophe. IQAir’s global data set provides an important reminder of the resulting injustices and the need to implement the many solutions that exist to this problem.”
Centre for Science and Environment executive director (research and advocacy) Anumita Roychowdhury said the report again highlights how air quality remains challenging in rapidly motorising and urbanising Indian cities. “To fix this, we need transformative multi-sector action across all regions under the National Clean Air Programme for a time-bound reduction in pollution levels.”
She said while most global rankings are based on the PM2.5 concentration, their NCAP programme is solely focussed on evaluating the performance of cities based on PM10, which diverts attention and resources towards dust control. “This also shows that we need stronger strategies for controlling the more harmful finer fraction of PM2.5 that comes largely from combustion sources.”
