New Delhi emerged as the world’s most polluted Capital for the third straight year in 2020, according to IQAir, a Swiss group that measures air quality levels based on the concentration of PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres, which can enter the lungs and the bloodstream). India was home to 35 of the world’s 50 most polluted cities.
The report is based on PM2.5 data from 106 countries and uses ground-based monitoring stations operated by governmental agencies, local residents, non-profit organisations and companies.
In 2020, New Delhi’s average annual concentration of PM2.5 in a cubic meter of air was 84.1, the study said, more than double the level of Beijing, which averaged 37.5 during the year, making it the 14th most polluted city in the world. However, the report suggested that air quality in India improved in 2020 due to the countrywide lockdown, which led to a substantial decrease in traffic and industry activities.
“The year 2020 brought an unexpected dip in air pollution,” Frank Hammes, Chief Executive Officer of IQAir, said. “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.”
Air pollution caused an estimated 54,000 premature deaths in New Delhi in 2020, according to a recent study by Greenpeace Southeast Asia Analysis and IQAir.
Among capitals in the world, Dhaka ranked second with a PM2.5 concentration of 77.1. Nine out of the 10 capitals were of Asian countries, the report showed.
Despite an 11% reduction in the annual average of PM2.5 levels due to nationwide coronavirus lockdown curbs imposed last year, India emerged as the world’s third most polluted country after Bangladesh and Pakistan. “Air pollution in India is still dangerously high,” the report said.
In 2020, South Asia endured some of the world’s worst air quality on record, it said.
With agency inputs