According to the World Air Quality Report 2023 by IQAir, India had the third poorest air quality out of 134 countries in 2023, after Bangladesh and Pakistan.
A recent study found that Delhi was the capital city with the worst air quality and that Begusarai, in Bihar, was the most polluted metropolitan area in the world.
According to the World Air Quality Report 2023 by Swiss organization IQAir, India had the third worst air quality out of 134 countries in 2023 with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 54.4 micrograms per cubic meter, behind Bangladesh (79.9 micrograms per cubic meter) and Pakistan (73.7 micrograms per cubic meter.
With an average PM2.5 concentration of 53.3 micrograms per cubic meter, India was listed as the ninth most polluted nation in 2022.
With an average PM2.5 concentration of 118.9 micrograms per cubic meter, Begusarai distinguished itself as the most polluted urban area in the world. The city was not even listed in the rankings for 2022.
From 89.1 micrograms per cubic meter in 2022 to 92.7 micrograms per cubic meter in 2023, Delhi’s PM2.5 levels got worse.
Beginning in 2018, the nation’s capital was consistently named as the world’s most polluted capital city four times in a row.
Also read: Air pollution claims more than 2 million lives per year in India, according to research.
According to the report, PM2.5 concentrations in India are expected to be higher than the annual guideline limit of 5 micrograms per cubic meter established by the World Health Organization (WHO) for 1.36 billion people.
Additionally, 96% of Indians, or 1.33 billion people, have PM2.5 levels that are more than seven times higher than the WHO’s annual PM2.5 recommendation. Data at the city level confirm this trend; over 66% of the nation’s cities report yearly averages higher than 35 micrograms per cubic meter.
According to IQAir, the information used to compile this report was gathered from the more than 30,000 regulatory air quality monitoring stations and inexpensive air quality sensors that are spread throughout the world and are run by non-profit non-governmental organizations, commercial businesses, government agencies, research institutions, and citizen scientists.
In 131 countries, regions, and territories, data from 7,323 places were included in the 2022 World Air Quality Report. By 2023, the locations had expanded to 7,812 throughout 134 nations, regions, and territories.
The biggest environmental threat to human health is air pollution, which is thought to be the cause of one in nine fatalities globally.
The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution causes seven million premature deaths globally annually.
Inhaling PM2.5 air pollution increases the risk of developing asthma, cancer, stroke, and lung disease, among other health issues.
Exposure to high concentrations of small particles can impede children’s cognitive development, cause mental health problems, and exacerbate pre-existing conditions like diabetes.
