In a new report, Delhi has taken the lead as the capital city with the poorest air quality, surpassing Bihar’s Begusarai, which emerged as the world’s most polluted metropolitan area.
With an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 54.4 micrograms per cubic metre, India ranks third in air quality out of 134 countries in 2023, following Bangladesh (79.9 micrograms per cubic metre) and Pakistan (73.7 micrograms per cubic metre), according to the World Air Quality Report 2023 by Swiss organisation IQAir.
In 2022, India was ranked as the eighth most polluted country with an average PM2.5 concentration of 53.3 micrograms per cubic metre.
Delhi’s PM2.5 levels worsened from 89.1 micrograms per cubic metre in 2022 to 92.7 micrograms per cubic metre in 2023.
It is estimated that 1.36 billion people in India experience PM2.5 concentrations exceeding the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended annual guideline level of 5 micrograms per cubic metre, the report said.
According to the WHO, air pollution is responsible for an estimated seven million premature deaths worldwide every year. (With inputs from PTI)
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