22 of the top 30 most polluted cities in the world are in India
Seven million people die from air pollution each year, says World Health Organisation
The vast majority of the most polluted cities in the world are in India according to a new study from IQ AirVisual and Greenpeace.
Gurugram, a northern Indian city in the state of Haryana, is the world's most polluted city, while New Delhi, the country's capital, is ranked 11th worst globally.
Researchers studied the amount of fine particulate matter known as PM2.5 to gauge the extent of air pollution.
PM2.5, or particles of 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, are dangerous because it lodges deep in the lungs.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) sets a daily mean air quality guideline of just 25 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter of air.
According to the report, Gurugram's annual average concentration is 135.8 micrograms per cubic metre, which AirVisual classifies as "very unhealthy".
New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels
New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels
1/14
2/14
3/14
4/14
5/14
6/14
7/14
8/14
9/14
10/14
11/14
12/14
13/14
14/14
1/14
2/14
3/14
4/14
5/14
6/14
7/14
8/14
9/14
10/14
11/14
12/14
13/14
14/14
According to the WHO, seven million people die from air pollution each year, with nine out of 10 people globally breathing in polluted air.
In New Delhi the average annual concentration is 113.5 micrograms per cubic metre.
The city – found to be the world's most polluted capital – is notorious for its toxic air, which is caused by vehicle and industrial emissions, dust from building sites, smoke from burning rubbish and crop residue in nearby fields.
"Air pollution steals our livelihoods and our futures, but we can change that. In addition to human lives lost, there’s an estimated global cost of 225 billion dollars in lost labour, and trillions in medical costs," said Yeb Sano, executive director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
"This has enormous impacts, on our health and on our wallets."
Although Indian cities fare poorly in the new study, Greenpeace and AirVisual said conditions had improved drastically in China.
Average PM2.5 concentrations in cities in China fell by 12% from 2017 to 2018, according to Greenpeace.
China struggled for years to enforce environment rules and crack down on polluting industries, but it has benefited recently from vastly improved legislation and greater political will to combat poor air quality.
"In mainland China, in particular, this has led to significant improvements in year-on-year reductions in PM2.5 levels," the groups said in the study.
"The question which remains to be answered is whether there is enough political will to aggressively fight the health emergency India faces today and move away from polluting fuels and practices," said Pujarini Sen, spokeswoman for Greenpeace India.
Additional reporting by agencies
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
At The Independent, no one tells us what to write. That’s why, in an era of political lies and Brexit bias, more readers are turning to an independent source. Subscribe from just 15p a day for extra exclusives, events and ebooks – all with no ads.
Comments
Share your thoughts and debate the big issues
Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines.
You can find our Community Guidelines in full here.
Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines.
Community Guidelines
You can find our Community Guidelines in full here.
Follow comments
Vote
Report Comment
Subscribe to Independent Minds to debate the big issues
Want to discuss real-world problems, be involved in the most engaging discussions and hear from the journalists? Try Independent Minds free for 1 month.
Already registered? Log inReport Comment
Delete Comment
Subscribe to Independent Minds to debate the big issues
Want to discuss real-world problems, be involved in the most engaging discussions and hear from the journalists? Try Independent Minds free for 1 month.
Already registered? Log inAbout The Independent commenting
Independent Minds Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Minds. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent minds. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment.
The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Minds. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates.