Bihar's Begusarai, ‘world's most polluted city in 2023’; India ranks 3rd globally: Swiss report
India ranked third worst polluted country out of 134 countries trailing behind Bangladesh and Pakistan, as highlighted in World Air Quality Report 2023.
Bihar's Begusarai topped the list as the “most polluted metropolitan area in 2023”, while Delhi has been identified as the capital city with the “poorest air quality” among global nations, as per the findings of the World Air Quality Report 2023 by the Swiss organization IQAir.
India ranked third worst out of 134 countries in terms of average annual PM2.5 concentration, trailing behind Bangladesh and Pakistan, as highlighted in this 6th Annual World Air Quality Report, which unveils concerning insights into the world's most polluted countries, territories, and regions.
“IQAir’s annual report illustrates the international nature and inequitable consequences of the enduring air pollution crisis. Local, national, and international effort is urgently needed to monitor air quality in under-resourced places, manage the causes of transboundary haze, and cut our reliance on combustion as an energy source,” said Aidan Farrow, Sr. Air Quality Scientist, according to IQAir.
Ninty-six per cent of India's population reside in areas where air quality exceeds WHO guidelines by seven times, according to the report.
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Worldwide air pollution status
- IQAir discovered that 92.5 per cent of the 7,812 locations analysed across 134 countries, regions, and territories exceeded the WHO's PM2.5 guidelines for average air quality last year.
- Columbus, Ohio, emerged as the “most polluted major city in the United States”, while Beloit in Wisconsin, took the title of the “most polluted city overall”. Meanwhile, Las Vegas in Nevada, was recognised as the “cleanest major city in the US.”
- The report said that Africa continues to be the most underrepresented continent, with a third of its population lacking access to air quality data.
- For the first time in the report's history, Canada was identified as the most polluted country in Northern America, with its borders containing the 13 most polluted cities in the region.
- Seven countries achieved compliance with the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline, which stipulates a yearly average of 5 µg/m3 or less: Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius, and New Zealand.
What is PM2.5?
PM stands for particulate matter, with 2.5 representing its size, specifically 2.5 microns, or 1/30th the diameter of a single strand of hair.
PM2.5 pollution has been linked to increased rates of heart attack and stroke. It can also cause oxidative stress, which is essentially damage to the body's cells at a rate faster than they can repair themselves, according to a Bloomberg report.
Even at modest concentrations, PM2.5 pollution has severe impacts. In 2021, the WHO tightened its recommended guidelines for PM 2.5 pollution from an average of 10 micrograms per cubic meter to 5 micrograms per cubic meter.