Economy News – Update
Despite notable improvements in air quality in 2024, Indian cities remain prominent in the global rankings for high levels of air pollution.
In addition to India, regions in Pakistan and Chad’s capital city also feature prominently in this list, indicating persistent air quality challenges across several countries.
According to a recent report by IQAir, the average concentration of fine particulate matter PM2.5—particles measuring less than 2.5 microns—reached 50.6 micrograms per cubic meter. This figure exceeds the World Health Organization’s recommended maximum by more than tenfold.
While this concentration has decreased by 7% compared to 2023, Indian cities account for 14 of the 20 locations identified as the most polluted globally.
The primary contributors to this particulate matter in India are emissions from factories, vehicles, agricultural burning, and waste incineration.
Najamina, the capital of Chad, ranks seventh in the global pollution index, while New Delhi ranks ninth, positioning itself as the most polluted capital, surpassing cities such as Dhaka, Kinshasa, and Islamabad.
The report’s findings are based on data collected from over 40,000 air quality monitoring stations distributed across 8,954 locations in 138 countries and territories. Notably, around a third of these stations are operated by public institutions, ensuring a robust data collection framework not reliant on satellite imagery or digital modeling.
Among the nations analyzed, Chad, a newcomer to the report in 2024, recorded the highest average pollution levels at 91.8 micrograms per cubic meter, primarily due to the dust from the Bodelle Desert Low.
Following Chad are Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and India, each grappling with severe air quality issues.
It’s important to note that the report’s classification is not comprehensive; Burkina Faso, which ranked fifth in 2023, as well as Iran and Afghanistan, were excluded due to inadequate data.
Globally, only seven countries reported PM2.5 levels below the WHO’s guideline of 5.0 micrograms per cubic meter. These countries include Estonia, Iceland, parts of Oceania (Australia and New Zealand), the Bahamas, Grenada, and Barbados.
Encouragingly, the report indicates that 17% of the cities surveyed met the WHO air quality standard by 2024, a significant increase from 9% in 2023.
In summary, air pollution, both outdoor and indoor, was identified as the leading environmental risk to health in 2021, accounting for approximately 8.1 million premature deaths globally, according to estimates from organizations focused on health data analysis.
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