India has six of the world's 10 most polluted cities, report shows

Six out the world’s 10 most polluted cities are in India, while California has the worst air pollution in North America, a new report shows.

HONG KONG — Six out the world’s 10 most polluted cities are in India, while California has the worst air pollution in North America, a new report shows.

New Delhi was the most polluted capital city globally, followed by N’Djamena, capital of Chad, a country in central Africa with the world’s worst air pollution, according to the 2024 World Air Quality Report published Tuesday by IQAir, a Swiss air monitoring company.

Ten out of the 15 most polluted cities in North America, including Ontario and Bloomington, are located in California as the United States reclaimed the top spot as the most polluted country in the region in 2024, the report said.

India, the world’s most populous country with more than 1.4 billion people, saw a 7% decline in PM2.5 concentration in 2024, but air pollution remains a “significant health burden” that reduces life expectancy in the South Asian nation by an estimated 5.2 years, the report said. The country’s major pollution sources include industrial discharge, construction dust and the burning of crop residues.

PM2.5 refers to tiny particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less that can go deep into lungs and even enter the bloodstream. Deriving from emission sources such as the combustion of gasoline and oil, it is linked to premature death, heart attacks and breathing difficulties.Though the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that average annual concentrations of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter, only 17% of global cities meet its air quality standard, the report said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/india-six-worlds-top-10-polluted-cities-report-shows-rcna195763

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