The IQAir AirVisual 2018 World Air Quality Report was compiled by Greenpeace in association with IQAir AirVisual. The index measures the presence of fine particulate matter PM2.5 in the air.
Findings of the Report
- Seven of the top 10 most polluted cities in the world are in India.
- Gurugram led all cities in pollution levels in 2018, even as its score improved from the previous year.
- The five most polluted cities in the world are Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Bhiwadi (India) and Faisalabad (Pakistan).
- 22 of the top 30 most polluted cities are in India. Remaining five are in China, two is in Pakistan and one is in Bangladesh.
- Beijing, once among the most polluted cities in the world ranked 122nd in the list of the most polluted cities last year based on PM2.5 data.
- Faisalabad in Pakistan, Hotan in China and Lahore were the only three non-Indian cities in the top 10.
- 64% of the over 3000 cities studied exceeded the WHO’s annual exposure guideline for fine particulate matter PM2.5.
- 100% of measured cities within the Middle East and Africa exceeded this guideline, while 99% of cities in South Asia, 95% of cities in Southeast Asia, and 89% of cities in East Asia also exceed this targe
The report identifies some of the major sources or causes of ambient air pollution which include emission of a complex mixture of air pollutants from Industries, households, cars, and trucks.
The report adds that fine particulate matter comes from fuel combustion, both from mobile sources such as vehicles and from stationary sources such as power plants, industry, households, agriculture or biomass burning.