This Article is From Sep 25, 2015

No Surprises. Delhi Tops This List of 381 Cities

No Surprises. Delhi Tops This List of 381 Cities

An under construction residential complex on the outskirts of Delhi. (Reuters photo)

A report by the World Bank on 381 cities from developing countries worldwide has said that Delhi tops the list of the most polluted urban settlements.

These are the 10 highlights on pollution in the report:

  1. Among a global sample of 381 developing-country cities, 19 of the 20 with the highest annual mean concentrations of fine particulate matter are in South Asia.

  2. Delhi records air pollution almost three times higher than Beijing, giving it the dubious distinction of being the "world's most polluted city", the report says, citing a finding by the World Health Organisation.

  3. The air in Delhi has 15 times greater concentration of fine particulate matter in its air than the WHO's guideline value.

  4. Patna, Gwalior, Raipur, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, Amritsar are among other Indians cities which are very polluted according to the data.

  5. All over India, more than half the population - 66 crore people - live in areas where the concentration of fine particulate matter in the air is over the WHO guideline, the report says.

  6. Besides Indian cities, Karachi, Dhaka, and Kabul feature in the top 20 most polluted cities.

  7. The only non-South Asian city in the top 20 is Khoramabad in Iran.

  8. High concentrations of fine particulate matter, especially that of 2.5 microns or less in diameter or PM 2.5, which can penetrate deep into the lungs, increases the likelihood of asthma, lung cancer, severe respiratory illness, and heart disease, the report notes.

  9. An explosion in personal transport vehicles and surging population density are the biggest contributors, the report says.

  10. For any given increase in demand for mobility associated with a given increase in population density , more air pollution will occur there than elsewhere, it said.



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