GOLDACH: Amid growing concerns about worsening air quality in India, Delhi has emerged as the most polluted capital city in the world, according to a report by the Swiss organization IQAir.
The report titled, ‘World Air Quality Report 2023’, stated that Delhi’s PM2.5 levels worsened from 89.1 micrograms per cubic metre in 2022 to 92.7 micrograms per cubic metre in 2023. The Indian capital was ranked the most polluted capital city in the world four times on the trot starting 2018.
The report further said that Begusarai in India’s Bihar state emerged as the world’s most polluted metropolitan area. It said that with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 54.4 micrograms per cubic metre, India had the third worst air quality out of 134 countries in 2023.
Indian cities dominate the global list of most polluted cities. In the report’s list of the top 50 most polluted cities in the world, 42 cities were in India.
This spike in pollution levels pose significant health risks to an estimated 1.36 billion people living in the country, the report said.
