India has world’s most air-polluted cities
- 5 years ago
A new Greenpeace report shows 22 out of the world’s 30 most air-polluted cities are in India.
The environmental NGO analysed real-time air pollution readings from over 3,000 cities in 2018. A staggering 64 per cent exceeded the World Health Organisation’s guideline for annual exposure to fine particulate matter, or PM2.5.
Relying heavily on coal as an energy source, and coping with serious traffic congestion, cities in India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh were among the top 50 with the highest average levels of PM 2.5.
China’s efforts to address air pollution has led to some improvement in recent years, with the capital Beijing falling from the top 100 most-polluted cities list in 2018. But the world’s most populous country was still home to the second-largest number of cities on the list.
Air pollution is a serious global problem, blamed for an estimated seven million premature deaths every year.
The environmental NGO analysed real-time air pollution readings from over 3,000 cities in 2018. A staggering 64 per cent exceeded the World Health Organisation’s guideline for annual exposure to fine particulate matter, or PM2.5.
Relying heavily on coal as an energy source, and coping with serious traffic congestion, cities in India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh were among the top 50 with the highest average levels of PM 2.5.
China’s efforts to address air pollution has led to some improvement in recent years, with the capital Beijing falling from the top 100 most-polluted cities list in 2018. But the world’s most populous country was still home to the second-largest number of cities on the list.
Air pollution is a serious global problem, blamed for an estimated seven million premature deaths every year.