AIR POLLUTION

About: 

• Bodies involved: The ranking was compiled by IQAir Group, a manufacturer of air-monitoring sensors as well as purifiers and environmentalist group Greenpeace. 
  
  
• Coverage: The study relies on ground-based sensors located in 3,000 cities from 73 countries. 
  
  
• Most polluted countries: 
  • When ranked by country, Bangladesh emerged as the most polluted followed by Pakistan and India respectively. 
    
    
  • China is the 12th most polluted country in the world. Iceland has emerged as the one with the cleanest air. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Most polluted cities: 
  • Fifteen of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India.  
    
    
  • Gurugram, in Haryana, topped the list with an average annual particulate matter (PM 2.5) quality of 135 g/m3 (micrograms/cubic metre), in 2018. 
    
    
  • Delhi was the 11th most noxious city behind Lahore, Pakistan (10th) and Hotan, China (8th). 
    
    
  • The other Indian cities in the list of 20 were Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Bhiwadi, Noida, Patna, Lucknow, Jodhpur, Muzaffarpur, Varanasi, Moradabad, Agra, Gaya and Jind. 
    
    
  • Beijing ranks now as the 122nd most polluted city in the world in 2018. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Other key findings: 
  • Of the cities analysed, 64% exceeded the WHO’s annual exposure guideline (10g/m3) for fine particulate matter, also known as PM 2.5. 
    
    
  • India’s annual guidelines range from 40-60 g/m3, depending on whether they are residential or industrial areas.