The report, launched Tuesday, confirmed Bangladesh and Pakistan had been the highest two most polluted international locations in 2023.India confirmed a relative decline because the nation was ranked eighth in 2022, an enchancment from 2021 when it had the fifth rank.
IQAir mentioned 13 of the 15 most polluted cities on the earth in 2023 had been in India with Begusarai, Guwahati and Delhi being the highest three.
On the identical time, some Indian cities made the checklist for the appropriate causes. Silchar in Assam (seventh), Aizawl in Mizoram (eighth) and Damoh in Madhya Pradesh (fifteenth) figured within the checklist of the least polluted cities within the central and south Asia area, dwelling to many polluted cities on the earth.
In 2023, solely 10 out of the reporting 134 international locations succeeded in reaching the WHO annual particulate matter PM2.5 requirements of 5 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3). Publicity to PM2.5, one of many key pollution, results in and exacerbates quite a few well being situations, together with bronchial asthma, most cancers, stroke and lung illness.
The report, factoring in hazardous PM2.5 concentrations, discovered that Delhi’s PM2.5 focus in 2023 had risen by 10% from 2022 with ranges peaking in November, which noticed a month-to-month common of 255 µg/m3.
The report analysed knowledge from all air air pollution monitoring stations in India and underlined that 1.36 billion individuals in India expertise PM2.5 concentrations exceeding the WHO really helpful annual guideline degree of 5 µg/m3. General, India with PM2.5 concentrations of 54.5 µg/m3 reported 10 instances larger air pollution ranges than the WHO PM2.5 annual commonplace.
“Moreover, 1.33 billion, or 96% of the inhabitants, expertise PM2.5 ranges greater than seven instances the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline. This pattern is mirrored in city-level knowledge with greater than 66% of the nation’s cities reporting annual averages larger than 35 µg/m3,” mentioned the report.
It famous that India has an in depth air high quality monitoring community, internet hosting extra air high quality monitoring stations than all different international locations within the central and south Asian area mixed. The huge monitoring community has contributed knowledge from 256 cities in 2023, representing 74% of cities within the central and south Asia area.
Delhi Air high quality deteriorates once more, dips to ‘very poor’ class
For the 2023 report, knowledge from greater than 30,000 air high quality monitoring stations throughout 7,812 places in 134 international locations, territories and areas had been analysed by IQAir’s air high quality scientists.
“In lots of components of the world the shortage of air high quality knowledge delays decisive motion and perpetuates pointless human struggling. Air high quality knowledge saves lives. The place air high quality is reported, motion is taken, and air high quality improves,” mentioned Frank Hammes, international CEO, IQAir.
