Report: New Delhi becomes 'most polluted capital' in the world for second straight year

A study has named New Delhi as the world's most polluted capital for the second consecutive year. According to reports, New Delhi has topped the list of the most polluted capital's in the world in a report by a Swiss-based group that gathers air-quality data globally for the second consecutive year. The group, IQ AirVisual had in 2018 named New Delhi as the world's most polluted city due to its hazardous air quality.

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Pollution in India

In 2019, New Delhi’s average annual concentration of PM2.5 in a cubic meter of air was 98.6, the study said, more than double the level of Beijing, which averaged 42.1 during the same year, making it the ninth most polluted city in the world.

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According to the group, India is home to 21 most polluted cities in the world out of its list of 30 cities. Along with Delhi, Agra, Mumbai, Noida, Lucknow, and Patna are other Indian cities to feature on the list. What's interesting is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency, Varanasi is also among the 30 most polluted cities in the world. Delhi is currently on second position in the list of poor air quality index on the IQ AirVisual page, Pakistan's Lahore city tops the list as of February 27. 

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Other major polluters in the world are Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka and Afghanistan's Kabul, which are placed at number three and four respectively. China's Chengdu also features in the list of most polluted cities along with Thailand's Chiang Mai, Myanmar's Yangon, Mongolia's Ulaanbaatar followed by South Africa's Johannesburg, which is placed at number 10 on the list. Another interesting thing in the latest data of February is that India and China are the only countries on the list with two cities each featuring in 10 most polluted cities in the world index. 

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Lead Image Credit: PTI