Lahore and Chad top list of world’s worst air cities and countries – survey

NEW DELHI, March 14 – The Pakistani city of Lahore has jumped more than 10 places to become the city with the worst air quality in the world by 2022, according to an annual global survey by a Swiss manufacturer of air purifiers. ‘air.

The report published by IQAir on Tuesday also notes that Chad, in central Africa, replaced Bangladesh as the country with the most polluted air last year.

IQAir measures air quality levels based on the concentration of airborne particles that damage the lungs, known as PM2.5. Their annual study is cited by many researchers and government agencies.

Lahore’s air quality has deteriorated to 97.4 micrograms of PM2.5 particles per cubic meter from 86.5 in 2021, making it the most polluted city in the world.

Hotan, the only Chinese city in the top 20 on the list, followed Lahore with PM2.5 levels of 94.3, an improvement from 101.5 in 2021.

The next two cities in the ranking are Indian: Bhiwadi, on the outskirts of Delhi, had pollution levels of 92.7, while Delhi itself followed closely with 92.6.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a maximum PM2.5 concentration of 5 micrograms per cubic meter.

While Chad had an average level of 89.7, Iraq, which had the second most polluted air for the entire country, had an average of 80.1.

Pakistan, which had two of the five cities with the worst air in 2022, ranked third in the country rankings with 70.9, followed by Bahrain with 66.6.

Bangladesh’s air quality improved from 2021, when it was named the country with the worst air. It ranks fifth in the latest report, with PM2.5 levels falling from 76.9 to 65.8.

India has some of the most polluted cities in the world, but ranks eighth in the latest report, with PM2.5 levels of 53.3.

According to the report, India and Pakistan have the worst air quality in the Central and South Asia region, where almost 60% of the population lives in areas with PM2.5 particle concentration is at least seven times higher than normal recommended levels. by WHO.

According to the WHO, one in 10 people in the world live in an area where air pollution poses a threat to health.

Guam, a US Pacific territory, was the country with the cleanest air, with a PM2.5 concentration of 1.3, while Canberra in Australia had the cleanest air for a capital, at 2. 8.

The index was developed using data from more than 30,000 air quality monitors at more than 7,300 locations in 131 countries, territories and regions.

(Reporting by Krishn Kaushik; Editing by YP Rajesh and Bradley Perrett; Spanish editing by Dario Fernandez)