NEW DELHI/GENEVA: New Delhi, ranked worst in 2014, is no longer the world’s most polluted city but four other Indian cities were among the top seven most polluted cities, the WHO said today warning that over 80 per cent of the world’s city dwellers breathe poor quality air.
According to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) report based on data collected between 2008 and 2013, New Delhi was the 11th most-polluted city while four other Indian cities – Gwalior (2), Allahabad (3), Patna (6) and Raipur (7) – figured in the top seven cities with worst air pollution.
The report warned that over 80 per cent of the world’s city dwellers breathe poor quality air.
New Delhi, which was ranked worst in terms of air pollution in 2014, was listed 11th this time. This comes after a string of measures were taken by both the Centre and the Delhi Government including levying of environment cess and implementation of ‘odd-even’ scheme to regulate traffic.
In a sample of selected mega-cities with a population above 14 million, New Delhi was however the most polluted, followed by Cairo and Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka.
New Delhi’s air quality was measured by the presence of PM2.5 which had an annual average measurement of 122. (AGENCIES)
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