Delhi, the capital of India, remained the most polluted capital in the world for the fourth year in a row. Not only this, 35 of the 50 most polluted cities in the world are Indian cities. This has been revealed in the latest IQAIR report.
The 2021 World Air Quality Report has featured New Delhi as the most polluted capital city (and fourth most polluted city) in the world for the fourth year in a row. It is followed by Dhaka in Bangladesh, N’Jamena in Chad, Dushanbe in Tajikistan and Muscat in Oman. New Delhi saw a 14.6% increase in PM2.5 in 2021 from 84 μg/m3 in 2020 to 96.4 μg/m3.
India also features prominently among the most polluted cities – 35 of the top 50 most polluted cities are in India, while India’s annual average PM2.5 level reached 58.1 µg/m3 in 2021, marking three years of improving air quality The efforts failed. India’s annual PM2.5 average is now back to the previous level measured in 2019.