Delhi Most Polluted Capital in World in 2021

A World Air Quality report dubbed Delhi as the most polluted capital city in 2021 with the highest average annual PM2.5 concentration. Notably, Delhi topped the list of 107 cities in the world.

Delhi was found to be the most polluted capital in the world for the fourth consecutive year in 2021 and 35 of the 50 cities with the worst air quality were found to be in India.

The World Air Quality Report 2021, prepared by Swiss organization IQAir and based on PM2.5 air quality data from 6,475 cities in 117 countries was released globally on Tuesday to present an overview of the state of global air quality in 2021.

“India was home to 11 of the 15 most polluted cities in Central and South Asia in 2021. Delhi saw a 14.6 per cent increase in PM2.5 concentrations in 2021 with levels rising to 96.4 µg/m3 from 84 µg/m3 in 2020. No cities in India met the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guideline of 5 µg/m3. In 2021, 48 per cent of India’s cities exceeded 50 µg/m3, or more than 10 times the WHO guideline.” the 2021 World Air Quality Report read.

According to the report, Central and South Asia was home to 46 of the world’s 50 most polluted cities in 2021. Among the most polluted capital cities, Dhaka ranked second after Delhi, followed by N’Djamena in Chad, Dushanbe in Tajikistan and Muscat in Oman.In the Central and South Asia region, including India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Bhiwadi in Rajasthan’s Alwar was the most polluted regional city, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 106.2 microgram per cubic metre, the report said.

The report also revealed that 48 per cent of Indian cities exceeded 50 μg/m3 air quality level which is well over 10 times the WHO guidelines.

Cautioning, Avinash Chanchal, the Campaign Manager at Greenpeace India said the report is a wake-up call for governments and corporations.

“It is once again highlighting that people are breathing dangerously polluted air. Vehicular emissions are one of the major contributors to urban PM2.5 concentrations,” he was quoted saying.

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