The world’s 100 worst polluted cities are in Asia — and 83 of them are in just one country

Posted on:
Key Points

All but one of the 100 cities with the worlds worst air pollution last year were in Asia, according to a new report, with the climate crisis playing a pivotal role in bad air quality that is risking the health of billions of people worldwide.. ..

The vast majority of these cities 83 were in India and all exceeded the World Health Organizations air quality guidelines by more than10 times, according to the report by IQAir, which tracks air quality worldwide.. ..

It comes from sources like the combustion of fossil fuels, dust storms and wildfires, and has been linked toasthma, heart and lung disease, cancer, and other respiratory illnesses, as well as cognitive impairment in children.. . Begusarai, a city of half a million people in northern Indias Bihar state, was the worlds most polluted city last year with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 118.9 23 timesthe WHO guidelines.It was followed in the IQAir rankings by the Indian cities ofGuwahati, Assam; Delhi; and Mullanpur, Punjab...

The report ranked the major population centers of Lahore in 5th, New Delhi in 6th and Dhaka in 24th place.. . Hammes said no significant improvement in pollution levels in the region is likely without major changes in terms of the energy infrastructure and agricultural practices.. . Whats also worrisome in many parts of the world is that the things that are causing outdoor air pollution are also sometimes the things that are causing indoor air pollution, he added..

Meanwhile, WHO says 6.7 million people die annually from the combined effects of ambient and household air pollution.. . . The human-caused climate crisis, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, plays a pivotal role in influencing air pollution levels, the IQAir report said.. ..

Full story at CNN | 

You might be interested in

World’s worst polluted cities are in Asia – but dirty air impacts most of us, report finds

19, Mar, 24

All but one of the 100 cities with the world’s worst air pollution last year were in Asia, according to a new report, with the climate crisis playing a pivotal role in bad air quality that is risking the health of billions of people worldwide.

Read at CNN Key Points

This is the most polluted city in India. It's not Delhi

14, Mar, 23

Nearly 60 per cent of cities in India surveyed for the report had pollution at nearly seven times the WHO standards.

Read at India Today Key Points