Guwahati: India’s air pollution problem has garnered international attention, with Delhi “ranking as the world’s most polluted city. While Delhi just topped the chart, there were two more Indian cities ranking pretty high on the global chart, reports Hindustan Times.
As per the list shared by Swiss air quality firm IQAir, Delhi is ranked Number 1,, Mumbai is 5th and Kolkata ranked at the 8th.
Two Pakistani cities also made it to the top 10 most-polluted, with Lahore at 2nd and Karachi at spot 4.
Here’s the list:
- Delhi, India
- Lahore, Pakistan
- Kuwait City, Kuwait
- Karachi, Pakistan
- Mumbai, India
- Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- Doha, Qatar
- Kolkata, India
- Canberra, Australia
- Jakarta, Indonesia
The concerning data of Indian cities came a day after Diwali, “when firecrackers were burst across India. Crackers are one of the most significant factors that contribute to air pollution, and air quality sees a big dip every year after firecrackers are burst on Diwali,” adds Hindustan Times.
While Supreme Court as Hindustan Times says, allowed the sale and bursting of green crackers in Delhi-NCR, people reportedly didn’t stick to the timing set for its use from October 18 to 21. The top court had said that crackers can only be burst from 6-7 pm and 8-10 pm, but the firecracker bursting went well beyond the stipulated windows.
Delhi’s top spot also tallies with several areas in the city recording a ‘severe’ Air Quality Index on Tuesday.
As per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI score between 0-50 is considered ‘Good’, 51-100 is ‘satisfactory’, 100-200 is ‘moderate’, 201-300 is ‘poor’ and causes breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure, 301-400 is ‘very poor’, and 401-500 is ‘severe’.
On Tuesday, Delhi recorded an overall AQI of 350, as of 8 am this morning, which means the reading was in the ‘very poor’ category. However, some areas like Bawana, Jahangirpuri, Wazirpur, Alipur and Burari Crossing saw AQI in the ‘severe’ category with readings surpassing 401.