2019 World Air Quality Report
The 2019 report from Greenpeace and pollution tracker IQAir said that two thirds of the most polluted cities in the world are in India.
- Is PM2.5, covered in the report, the smallest of polluting particulates?
PM2.5 are particulates that have a size of 2.5 micrometres or less. These are also known as fine particulate matter. There are smaller particulates- PM0.1. These are also called ultrafine particulate matter. The smallest particles are less than 100 nanometres.
- Which country has the highest PM2.5 pollution when population is taken into account?
According to the 2019 World Air Quality Report, Bangladesh has the highest levels of PM2.5 pollution when population is taken into consideration. Pakistan has the next highest levels. India was listed at the 5th spot. Mongolia and Afghanistan are the other most polluted countries.
- Which Indian cities were listed in the top 10 most polluted cities of the world?
The report said that two thirds of the most polluted cities in the world are in India. Ghaziabad is listed as the most polluted city in the world. It has a PM2.5 level of 110.2 micrograms per cubic metre. Other Indian cities in the top ten are Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Greater Noida and Bandhwari.
- What is the reason given for improvement in India’s air quality levels?
The report showed that the national air pollution in India has decreased by 20% between 2018 and 2019. The report attributed the improvement largely to the economic slowdown. About 98% of the cities’ air quality experienced improvement in this period.
