Once again India has won over the charts of being severely polluted and come out as a star in the stats of the world’s most polluted cities wherein 22 out of the top 30 are India’s cities.
China, although leading the pollution index, is closely followed by Ghaziabad which is officially the world’s 2nd most polluted city now. Not a shocker since the condition has been worsening for quite some time, but to be among the top 30 is a position India seeks no pride in.
Delhi too is not average. Ranked as the world’s most polluted capital city, Delhi has made its place among the elite (with context to pollution index).
World Air Quality Report, 2020
Prepared by a Swiss organization called IQAir, the report got released globally on 16th March, Tuesday, and has been trending ever since.
Although Delhi has been ranked at a high level (for the wrong reason) by the organization, it was noted that the air quality of Delhi has improved about 15% from 2019. This leads us to believe that Delhi could have easily topped the chart had the air quality not improved for a significant period.
But standing at the 10th spot seems good enough, for any higher, and it would’ve been infamous.
Read More: OpED: Does Delhi’s Air Pollution Take A Toll On The Mental Health Of Millennials?
Naming The 22 Cities
- Ghaziabad,
- Bulandshahar,
- Bisrakh Jalalpur,
- Noida,
- Greater Noida,
- Kanpur,
- Lucknow,
- Meerut,
- Agra and Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh,
- Delhi,
- Bhiwari in Rajasthan,
- Faridabad,
- Jind,
- Hisar,
- Fatehabad,
- Bandhwari,
- Gurugram,
- Yamunanagar,
- Rohtak and Dharuhera in Haryana, and
- Muzaffarpur in Bihar
The aforementioned are the top 22 cities of India that have their place reserved among the top 30 most polluted cities of the world.
Xinjiang in China is the most prominent among all the cities in the whole wide world when it comes to pollution.
Based on PM 2.5 data from 106 countries, the report is measured by ground-based monitoring stations. Government agencies manage most of the report per se.
Causes Of The Increase In Pollution Levels
According to the report, the pandemic has played a humongous role in the acceleration of the global particulate pollution (PM 2.5) levels.
Apart from that, the major causes of India’s air pollution have been transportation, biomass burning, electricity generation, industry, construction, waste burning, and, above all, agricultural burning.
“The transportation sector is one of the major contributors to India’s leading PM 2.5 emission sources across cities,” the report said.
Possible Solutions As Per Environmentalists
Avinash Chanchal, Climate Campaigner at Greenpeace India, commented that despite improvement in air quality over the last year, India’s air pollution remains severely affected and that too, for the worse.
He further said that the government needs to bring about SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and push for clean energy sources to be incorporated. Low cost, active and carbon-neutral choices need to be prioritized by the cities for better and safer transportation as well.
“Speeding up the transition to clean energy and clean transport not only saves lives but also dramatically reduces healthcare-related costs,” Chanchal said.
“The year 2020 brought an unexpected dip in air pollution. In 2021, we will likely see an increase in air pollution due to human activity, again. We hope this report will highlight that urgent action is both possible and necessary to combat air pollution, which remains the world’s greatest environmental health threat,” said the CEO of IQAir Frank Hammes.
Image Source: Google Images
Sources: Hindustan Times, NDTV, Tribune India, IQAir Report 2020
Find The Blogger: @evidenceofmine
This post is tagged under: India, world’s most polluted cities, cities, Indian cities, pollution, polluted cities, world pollution report, world air quality report 2020, China, Ghaziabad, India’s capital, pollution index, world pollution index, global index, global pollution index, IQAir, IQAir report 2020, air quality, Delhi air quality, Delhi pollution level, Ghaziabad, Buladshahar, Bisrakh, Bisrakh Jalapur, Noida, Greater Noida, Kanpur, Meerut, Agra, Muzaffarnagar, UP, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, New Delhi, Bhiwari, Bhiwari Rajasthan, Faridabad, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad, Bandhwari, Gurugram, Yamnunanagar, Rohtak, Dharuhera, Haryana, Muzaffarpur, Bihar, Ghaziabad pollution, Buladshahar pollution, Bisrakh pollution, Bisrakh Jalapur pollution, Noida pollution, Greater Noida pollution, Kanpur pollution, Meerut pollution, Agra pollution, Muzaffarnagar pollution, UP pollution, Uttar Pradesh pollution, Delhi pollution, New Delhi pollution, Bhiwari pollution, Bhiwari Rajasthan pollution, Faridabad pollution, Jind pollution, Hisar pollution, Fatehabad pollution, Bandhwari pollution, Gurugram pollution, Yamnunanagar pollution, Rohtak pollution, Dharuhera pollution, Haryana pollution, Muzaffarpur pollution, Bihar pollution, 30 most polluted cities of the world, 22 most polluted cities of India, most polluted cities in India, Xinjiang, Xinjiang China, Xinjiang pollution, Xinjiang China pollution, China pollution, PM, particulate matter, pandemic, COVID, COVID 19, global particulate pollution, transportation, biomass, biomass burning, causes of pollution, electricity, electricity generation, industry, industrial waste, construction, waste burning, agricultural burning, agriculture waste management, MCD, climate, environment, environmental activist, climate activist, climate change, SDG, sustainable development goal, energy source, clean energy source, which are the worlds most polluted cities, India among the most polluted nations in the world, Indian cities among the top polluted cities of the world, why is India so polluted
