The IQAir-a Swiss group has released the 2021 World Air Quality Report. The group measures air quality levels based on the concentration of PM 2.5 — airborne particles with less than 2.5 microns in diameter.
Salient features of 2021 World Air Quality Report
- According to the report, in 2021, 48 per cent of India’s cities exceeded 50 µg/m3, or more than 10 times the WHO guideline.
- India was home to 14 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities, according to the report, which gathered data for 117 countries.
- Only 222 cities of the 6,475 analyzed had average air quality that met WHO’s standard.
- Three territories were found to have met WHO guidelines: the French territory of New Caledonia and the United States territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
- India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were among the countries with the worst air pollution, exceeding the guidelines by at least 10 times.
- The worst cities measured were New Delhi, India (for the second consecutive year); followed by Dhaka, Bangladesh; N’Djamena, Chad; Dushanbe, Tajikistan; and Muscat, Oman.
WHO’s new annual air pollution guidelines
- It’s the first major global air quality report based on WHO’s new annual air pollution guidelines, which were updated in September 2021.
- The new guidelines halved the acceptable concentration of fine particulate matter — or PM 2.5 — from 10 down to 5 micrograms per cubic meter.
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