India third-most polluted country; Delhi most polluted capital city: Report | India News – Times of India
NEW DELHI: India is the third-most polluted country in the world. Delhi is the most polluted capital city in the world. Thirty-seven of the forty most polluted cities in the world are in South Asia.
These are the findings of the 2020 World Air Quality Report released by IQAir.
These are the findings of the 2020 World Air Quality Report released by IQAir.
Here is a look at the key findings of the report.
- A mere 1.6% of the cities in South Asia met the WHO PM2.5 target in 2020.
- Thirty-seven of the forty most polluted cities in the world in 2020 are in South Asia.
- Nearly 13 to 22% of deaths in South Asia are linked to air pollution.
- Air pollution causes a loss of 7.4% of South Asia’s GDP.
- India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh generally experience the worst air quality in this region, with 32%, 67%, and 80% of cities averaging a US AQI measurement of “Unhealthy” (> 55.5 μg/m³), respectively.
- India showed an overall improvement in several cities, with 63% reporting direct improvements over 2019 averages. All cities whose pollution levels increased in 2020 still show an overall downward trend from 2018 and earlier.
- South and East Asian countries continue to be the most polluted locations.
- Bangladesh, China, India, and Pakistan share 49 of the 50 of the most polluted cities worldwide.
- Air pollution contributes to nearly 7 million premature deaths annually. A staggering 600,000 of these deaths include children.
- Air pollution is estimated to cost the global economy upwards of $2.9 trillion per year, which is equal to 3.3% of the global GDP.
- The Covid-19-induced lockdown resulted in a temporary reduction in fossil-fuel consumption. This resulted in a significant decrease in air pollution.
- 2020 saw a remarkable 65% of global cities experience air quality improvements from 2019, while 84% of countries saw improvements overall.
- The report was compiled by the world’s largest database of ground-based air pollution measurements, aggregating PM2.5 data published in real-time from ground-based sensors throughout 2020.
- The 2020 World Air Quality Report includes data for 106 countries, up from 98 countries in 2019 and 69 countries in 2018.
