10 Most Polluted Countries in the World 2024. (graphics
embargoed until 5:30 am on March 11) PTI GRAPHICS.
NEW DELHI — Thirteen of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in India, with
Byrnihat in Meghalaya topping the list, according to a new report published on
Tuesday.
The World Air Quality Report 2024 by Swiss air quality
technology company IQAir said Delhi remains the most polluted capital city
globally, while India ranked as the world's fifth most polluted country in
2024, marking an improvement from its third rank in 2023.
Four cities in neighbouring Pakistan and one in China are
among the world's top 20 polluted cities.
10 Most Polluted Countries in the World 2024. (graphics
embargoed until 5:30 am on March 11) PTI GRAPHICS.
The report said India saw a 7 per cent decline in PM2.5
concentrations in 2024, averaging 50.6 micrograms per cubic metre, compared to
54.4 micrograms per cubic metre in 2023.
Yet, 13 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in India.
The air pollution in Delhi has worsened, with the annual
average PM2.5 concentration rising from 102.4 micrograms per cubic metre in
2023 to 108.3 micrograms per cubic metre in 2024.
The Indian cities in the list of world's top 20 most
polluted cities are Byrnihat, Delhi, Punjab's Mullanpur, Faridabad, Loni,
Gurugram, Ganganagar, Greater Noida, Bhiwadi, Muzaffarnagar, Hanumangarh and
Noida.
Overall, 35 per cent of the Indian cities reported annual
PM2.5 levels exceeding 10 times the World Health Organization (WHO) limit of 5
micrograms per cubic metre, the report said.
The high level of pollution in Byrnihat, a town on the
Meghalaya-Assam border, is due to emissions from local factories, including
distilleries, iron and steel plants.
Delhi grapples with high air pollution year-round and the
problem worsens in winter when unfavourable meteorological conditions, combined
with vehicular emissions, paddy-straw burning, firecrackers and other local
pollution sources, make the air quality hazardous.
Air pollution remains a serious health risk in India,
reducing life expectancy by an estimated 5.2 years. According to a Lancet
Planetary Health study published last year, about 1.5 million deaths in India
every year from 2009 to 2019 were potentially linked to long-term exposure to
PM2.5 pollution.
PM2.5 refers to tiny air pollution particles smaller than
2.5 microns, which can enter the lungs and bloodstream, leading to breathing
problems, heart disease and even cancer.
The sources include vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions
and the burning of wood or crop waste.
Former WHO chief scientist and health ministry advisor
Soumya Swaminathan said India has made progress in air quality data collection
but lacks sufficient action.
"We have the data; we need action now. Some solutions
are easy like replacing biomass with LPG. India already has a scheme for this,
but we must further subsidise additional cylinders. The first cylinder is free,
but the poorest families, especially women, should receive higher subsidies.
This will improve their health and reduce outdoor air pollution," she told
PTI in an interview.
In cities, expanding public transport and imposing fines on
certain cars could help.
"A mix of incentives and penalties is necessary,"
she said.
"Finally, strict enforcement of emission laws is
crucial. Industries and construction sites must comply with regulations and
install equipment to cut emissions instead of taking shortcuts," the
former director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) added.
Avinash Chanchal, deputy programme director, Greenpeace
South Asia, said the report once again exposed that the steps being taken under
clean air action plans to control pollution in India are not sufficient.
"Numerous studies have identified emissions from road
transport as one of the major contributors to PM2.5 concentrations in our
cities. However, the government has failed to strengthen the public transport
system.
"It lacks dedicated funding and cities are struggling
to add new bus fleets, build efficient public transport infrastructure and
ensure first and last-mile connectivity," he said.
Chanchal also said the government must commit to mobility as
a right, not a commodity, by creating a dedicated public transport fund.
This fund should ensure investments in public buses, fare
subsidies and the expansion of rapid mass transit systems, he said.
Vivek Agarwal, global policy expert and country director,
Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, said despite numerous interventions,
pollution in cities like Delhi remains intractable due to siloed regulatory
environment, poor data collection and "political short-termism".
"The regulatory institutions are fragmented. Pollution
is a regional problem, but enforcement is left to individual state pollution
control boards with little capacity to regulate or curb emissions effectively.
"Data on pollution remains unreliable, shielding
violators from being identified and held accountable. This results in excessive
focus on visible suspects like crop burning rather than silent year-long
contributors like old polluting trucks," he said.
The crisis is further exacerbated by a myopic policy focus.
Measures like the odd-even scheme serve as political theatre
but fail to address systemic drivers like vehicular pollution and construction
dust. What cities like Delhi need is not more stopgap measures but a
centralised, well-funded regulatory overhaul, Agarwal said.
