A new report published by the State of Global Air Initiative of the Health Effects Institute (HEI) reveals that the air quality in Delhi is the worst compared to more than 7,000 cities across the globe.
The analysis shows that India’s capital, Delhi stands at the first spot when it comes to PM 2.5 levels, while Kolkata is second, and Kano, Nigeria, stands at number three. The new report, titled Air Quality and Health in Cities, provides a comprehensive overview of air pollution and global health impacts for more than 7,000 cities around the world. The detailed report provided an analysis of the two most harmful pollutants, fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
In the year 2019-20, 7,239 cities included in the analysis accounted for 1.7 million deaths related to PM 2.5, while cities in Asia, Africa and Eastern and Central Europe had the greatest impact on public health due to PM 2.5.
The report, using data from 2010-11 to 2019-20, found that global patterns of exposure to the two major air pollutants are surprisingly different. In 2019-20, 86 percent of the more than 7,000 cities covered in this report exceeded the WHO's standard of 10 micrograms per cubic meter for NO2, affecting some 2.6 billion people, whereas PM2.5 attracts more attention to known hotspots around the world.
The report warns that breathing even low levels of pollution over time can cause a myriad of health effects, including reduced life expectancy, missed school and work, chronic diseases and even death. Global air pollution is responsible for one in nine deaths and 6.7 million deaths in 2019. It has a profound effect, especially on the youth, the elderly, and people with chronic respiratory and heart diseases.
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