According to the World Air Quality Report 2022, a total of 39 Indian cities featured on the list of world’s 50 most polluted cities.
- The report has been prepared by IQAir based on the annual average level of pollutant PM2.5 in air.
- IQAir is a Swiss air quality technology company that prepares annual world air quality reports based on data from monitoring stations operated by governments and other institutions and organisations across the world.
- The 2022 report is based on PM2.5 data from 7,323 cities and 131 countries.
- Bhiwadi in Rajasthan with PM levels of 92.7 was found to be the most polluted city in India and third most polluted city in the world.
- Lahore is the world’s most polluted city.
- Delhi emerged as the most polluted metropolitan city with PM levels of 92.6 which is almost 20 times the safe limit.
- The national capital was ranked fourth on a list of 50.
- Other cities that dominated the list included Patna, Muzzaffarnagar, Dharbanga, Noida, Gurgaon, Bulandshahr, Meerut, Charkhi Dadri, Jind, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Dadri, Meerut, Hisar and Greater Noida.
- Out of 131 countries, India ranked eighth with a population weighted average PM2.5 level of 53.3 μg/m3 in 2022.
