India ranks high in global air pollution, with Byrnihat in Assam topping the list and Delhi maintaining its position as the most polluted capital city.
India has been named home to 13 of the world’s top 20 most polluted cities, with Byrnihat in Assam ranked as the most polluted city globally, according to the World Air Quality Report 2024 by IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company. Delhi retains its position as the most polluted capital city worldwide, while India has dropped to the fifth position as the most polluted country, down from third place in 2023.
The report highlights a slight improvement in India’s air quality, showing a 7% decrease in PM2.5 concentrations. In 2024, the average PM2.5 level was 50.6 micrograms per cubic meter, compared to 54.4 micrograms per cubic meter in 2023. Despite this improvement, six of the world’s ten most polluted cities are still located in India.
Byrnihat, a town in Assam, has consistently recorded “very poor” air quality due to high levels of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10). Industrial emissions from the 41 factories in the area, including iron and steel plants, distilleries, cement factories, and beverage production units, are the primary contributors to this hazardous air quality. Byrnihat’s location as a key transit hub between Assam and Meghalaya exacerbates the situation, with heavy truck traffic further contributing to pollution. Local authorities confirmed that there is no dedicated pollution control authority in the area, with officials only visiting from Shillong, nearly 70 km away.
Delhi, India’s capital, continues to face dangerously high pollution levels. The city recorded an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 91.6 micrograms per cubic meter, nearly identical to 2023’s figure of 92.7 micrograms per cubic meter. The 13 Indian cities featured in the world’s top 20 most polluted cities include Byrnihat, Delhi, Mullanpur (Punjab), Faridabad, Loni, New Delhi, Gurugram, Ganganagar, Greater Noida, Bhiwadi, Muzaffarnagar, Hanumangarh, and Noida.
The report reveals that 35% of India’s cities reported annual PM2.5 levels exceeding 10 times the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended limit of 5 micrograms per cubic meter. This level of air pollution poses a serious health threat to millions of people in India, with life expectancy reduced by an estimated 5.2 years due to poor air quality.
According to a Lancet Planetary Health study published last year, around 1.5 million deaths annually from 2009 to 2019 in India were potentially linked to long-term exposure to PM2.5 pollution. These fine particles, smaller than 2.5 microns, can enter the lungs and bloodstream, causing respiratory problems, heart disease, and even cancer. Key sources of PM2.5 include vehicle emissions, industrial activity, and the burning of wood and crop waste.
Soumya Swaminathan, former chief scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO) and advisor to India’s health ministry, noted that while India has made progress in collecting air quality data, more concrete action is needed. She suggested several solutions, including replacing biomass with LPG to reduce indoor air pollution, subsidizing additional LPG cylinders for low-income families, expanding public transportation in cities, and enforcing stricter emission laws on industries and construction sites.
Swaminathan emphasised the need for a balanced approach, combining incentives and penalties, to address the issue of air pollution effectively. Strict enforcement of emission laws is crucial to mitigating the impact of pollution on public health and the environment.
(Inputs from PTI)