The world's most polluted cities
The most polluted city in the world is not, to most people’s surprise, Beijing or Delhi. In fact, neither is in the top 10 (Delhi is 11th).
In its latest report, released a few days ago, the World Health Organization compared a total of 795 cities in 67 countries for levels of small and fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) between 2008 and 2013.
Sadly, global urban air pollution levels have increased by 8 percent, despite improvements in some regions such as China.
The PM2.5 micro-particles are classed as a Group 1 carcinogen. More than 5.5 million people worldwide are dying prematurely every year as a result of air pollution, according to research by the University of British Columbia. More than half of them are in China and India.
1. Zabol, Iran
You may not have even heard of Zabol but this Iranian city is the most polluted on Earth. ItÂ’s PM2.5 annual score is 217. To put things in perspective, the particles’ National Ambient Air Quality Standard, established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is 15 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter of air).
2. Gwalior, IndiaGwalor, a historic city in Madhya Pradesh, has a PM2.5 annual score of 176. Factors that contribute to the bad quality of the air are coal-fired power plants, driving cars, inefficient use of energy in buildings, and use of biomass for cooking and heating.
3. Allahabad, India
Allahabad is among the largest cities of Uttar Pradesh. It’s annual PM2.5 score is 170. There are more than 7,000 new Diesel vehicles being registered every month. In comparison, there are just 125 buses in the city. Also, there is no system to cordon off construction sites, hence allowing dust particles to hang in the air, The Indian Express had reported.
Report a Typo
