Lahore has turned out to be the most polluted city in the world with worst Air Quality Index (AQI), said an air quality monitor IQAir. It has released a ranking of 100 most polluted cities in the world and two Indian cities have featured in top-10 of this list. And these are not the only Indian cities in the list.
Top 10 most polluted cities in world:
1. Lahore
Lahore has bagged the top spot in this list of shame. At the time of publishing of this story, live rankings on IQAir website showed the city to have an AQI of 228 (very unhealthy).
Main pollutant in Lahore was PM2.5 , that is, particulate matter with particles having less than 2.5 micron diameter. PM2.5 can include smoke, soot, aerosols, dust and more. These particles have major helath hazards associated with them.
2. New Delhi
The Indian capital has bagged the second spot with an AQI of 206 (very unhealthy). PM2.5 was found to be the major pollutant here as well.
Delhi combats the menace of air pollution each year especially during winters. Plummeting temperatures, stubble burning in agricultural fields around the city and festive season is said to be behind it.
IQAir has advised people of Delhi to avoid outdoor exercise. It has also asked citizens to wear masks when leaving homes and closing windows to prevent polluted air from entering their houses.
3. Kinshasa
This city in Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa is on the third place with an AQI of 201 (very unhealthy). PM2.5 is again the main pollutant here and IQAir found that PM2.5 levels in the air here were 25.2 times higher than the level mentioned in World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
4. Dhaka
The Bangladesh capital is a common member of such lists just like Delhi and Lahore. Dhaka had the AQI of 160 (unhealthy)
The PM2.5 levels in Dhaka were 12.5 times more than WHO's permissible limit.
IQAir has advised people in Dhaka to avoid venturing outdoors.
5. Mumbai
India's financial capital is at fifth place in the list of most polluted cities in the world. The AQI is 157 (unhealthy). PM2.5 levels in the city were more than 15 times the limit prescribed by WHO.
6. Tel Aviv-Yafo
The city in Israel has found itself on the sixth spot. Israel is currently at war with Hamas. The AQI in Tel Aviv has been found to be 144 (unhealthy for sensitive groups).
7. Batam
The Indonesian city is at the seventh position with AQI of 132 (unhealthy for sensitive groups). The PM2.5 levels are more than nine times the safe limits here.
8. Ulaanbaatar
The Mongolian capital is on the eight spot with an AQI of 122 (unhealthy for sensitive groups)
9. Skopje
This city in North Macedonia has grabbed the not-so-coveted ninth spot. The AQI here is 119 and PM2.5 levels are more than nine time the safe limit defined by the WHO
10. Warsaw
Rounding off our list of top 10 most polluted cities in the world is Polish capital Warsaw. Here too, PM2.5 is the main pollutant and the levels are more than seven times the safe limit.
