Most polluted cities in the world. In a new report on cities with the highest levels of air pollution, India tops the lists again.

Data provided by IQAir AirVisual from report 2020 World Air Quality Report. The most polluted air is in the city of Ghaziabad, near the capital of India. The concentration of harmful substances there exceeds the norm by 9 times.

More than 80% of people living in cities breathe air whose pollution levels are beyond WHO standards.

Researchers measured the number of microparticles in the air whose dimensions are less than 2.5 micrometers – this size allows them to penetrate into the distant parts of the lungs and cardiovascular system. Such particles include compounds of sulfates, nitrates and substances contained in soot.

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According to WHO, air pollution causes about 7 million premature deaths annually.

Mortality is mediated through an increase in the incidence of cardiovascular, respiratory and cancer diseases.

The most problematic region of the world in this regard is South Asia, 27 of 30 cities are located in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Nevertheless, the situation is not getting worse – in India, air pollution decreased by 20% from 2018 to 2019.

Top 10 Cities With The Most Polluted Cities In The World

Do you live in a polluted city? It’s a habit to constantly hear from residents of world cities such as New York or London that the atmosphere in the place where they live is polluted, however, that can shock you, the air in these cities is relatively healthy, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In pollution database said is measured by micrograms of ultrafine particles (PM10) per cubic meter, which indicates the number of small harmful particles in the atmosphere of each city, the smallest of which are less than 10 microns – these particles can get into the lungs with inhaled air, and therefore the amount of ultrafine particles in the atmosphere is an important measure when it comes to health risks. According to the WHO measurement scale, the level of air pollution in New York is about 21 micrograms per cubic meter, compared with the world average of 71.

10. KANPUR, INDIA

Kanpur is an industrial city known as “East Manchester”, once in which your dreams of green meadows and clear reservoirs instantly shatter. According to officially published WHO data, Kanpur is the second most polluted city in India, with an air pollution level of 209 micrograms per cubic meter.

The region is the capital of industrial leather production with a large number of factories. In addition, there are numerous steel mills in Kanpur, as well as other sectors of light and heavy industry. As an economic center, the region is thriving, but it has to pay the price for the environment. The famous Ganges River flows through the city, but, according to experts, the water in it is unsuitable for human consumption with its “pale yellowish” water containing a high level of nitrates.

9. YASUJ, IRAN

One of the four largest industrial centers of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Yasuj is an industrial city with a sugar factory and a coal-fired power plant. The level of air pollution in the region is 215 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Moreover, in the near future, it is planned to build a new oil refinery in Yasuja, which will only exacerbate the pollution problem. However, despite the existing environmental problems, the city is considered quite beautiful, where, sitting at the foot of the Zagros mountain range, tourists coming here can watch a picturesque waterfall of their own.

8. GABORONE, BOTSWANA



Tourist pages on the Internet describe Gaborone as a “young metropolis” with “sparkling hotels”. However, it is not mentioned anywhere that the level of air pollution in the city is 216 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Local experts say that the most polluted air in May, but closer to September – August, the value decreases.

Sources of pollution in the metropolis are imported cars and people who make paraffin stoves, and even animal dung. Gaborone is a popular tourist destination because of its proximity to national parks, but at certain times of the year it is better to refuse to visit the city unless you want to inhale exhaust fumes.

7. PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN



This Pakistani city is the second most polluted air in the country (219 micrograms per cubic meter of air), outperforming the capital Lahore, which can be found in eleventh place in the world ranking. 2006 WHO reports showed that the city ranks sixth in the ranking and the situation is “getting worse”, despite the fact that the government is taking measures to combat pollution. Obviously, the measures are ineffective given how polluted the air is. Part of the source of environmental problems is the numerous rickshaws used by the population that pollute the streets with exhaust fumes.

However, the environmental disaster in Peshawar does not only absorb air. The Kabul River canal is also heavily polluted, as discarded food containers and other debris quickly fill the canal. In addition, during the war in Afghanistan, the region was bombarded by the Taliban and used as a refugee camp, which also left a mark. Are these facts enough to cross out Peshawar from vacation plans?

6. KERMANSHAH, IRAN



With an air pollution index of 229 micrograms per cubic meter of air, Kermanshah is another Iranian city with a serious pollution problem. The region, which in the recent past was a traditional agricultural center, is rapidly becoming industrialized with 256 production units within the city, including the Kermanshah Oil Refining Company, founded in 1932 by the British. Today, the industrial industry of Kermanshah includes sugar processing, petrochemicals and electrical equipment, and all this suppresses the ecology of the region.

But the real pollution problem is dust storms that regularly sweep through the region. The text of the report for 2009 says: “It is impossible to see anything at a distance of more than 100 meters in the city of Kermanshah.” Hazardous dust triggered dozens of hospitalizations – combined with rising industry levels, the city could have become the most polluted city in Iran by the time the next report was published.

5. QUETTA, PAKISTAN



Quetta is even more polluted than Peshawar. The city has a pollution indicator of 251 micrograms per cubic meter of air, which makes it the most polluted city in the already quite polluted country. Reports by local experts call the situation in the region “a serious environmental problem for human health,” and after the publication of the pollution index in 2011, a group of experts met in Quetta at a conference to formulate the provisions of the “Action Plan to Reduce Air Pollution and Regulate the Situation to improve air quality in Quetta. ”

Part of the damage to the environment was caused by the protests of Shiite Muslims in 2011 against the bombings of Kaddari Imambarg Alamdar Road. The protests killed 81 people. Protesters burned large numbers of burning car tires throughout the city, a common form of protest in Pakistan. However, no one took into account that such actions are terribly harmful to the environment. Protesters were encouraged to use alternative protest methods, such as lighting candles, but in April 2013, protesters still burned tires. In this situation, nothing promises anything good for Quetta’s ecological future.

4. LUDHIANA, INDIA



The Indian city of Ludhiana has the same level of air pollution as Pakistan’s Quetta. This is another place whose ecology will face serious problems in the near future. The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) again accuses rickshaws of pollution because they operate on a harmful diesel engine.

PPCB be realized transport alternative, for example – operate buses and other public tran sport-polluting air atmosphere. In Times of India, PPCB Chairman Kahan Singh Pannu stated the following: “It is true that pollution levels in Ludhiana are greater than in other cities, and we are taking steps to prevent an environmental disaster,” but third-party accusations of inaction in pollution continued from the side against the auto-rickshaw.

Air is not the only problem in Ludhiana. The river flowing in the city is also extremely polluted due to the constant runoff of paint and varnish industry waste into the water. In order for Ludhiana to ever be able to move down in the ranking of the most polluted cities in India, he will have to take radical measures acting immediately and quickly.

3. SENATION, IRAN



Another Iranian city that suffers from dust storms and heavy industrialization is Senenage. The level of pollution is about 254 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Nevertheless, the Iranians are trying to find the perpetrators of this outside the region – Fars News correspondents blame the American troops for destroying agriculture in neighboring regions, the devastation of which today causes dust storms.

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The head of the Iranian Meteorological Organization, Bahram Sanai, emphasized that Iraq’s occupation of the allies blames them for the lack of sustainable economic growth in the country. Whether these theories are true is unclear, but with so many cities in the top ten, it seems that Iran needs to first sort out its own problems, and not look for the guilty on the side.

2. ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA



Mongolia is the most sparsely populated independent country in the world, so it is surprising that its capital is overpopulated and very polluted. A guide to Lonely Planet describes his Ulaanbaatar “concrete and mud boiler”, and when contaminated, 279 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Pollution comes from a number of sources – dust from dirt roads, emissions from wood stoves, heavy traffic, as well as products from the metallurgical industry.

1. AHWAZ, IRAN



The Iranian city of Ahwaz tops the list of the most polluted cities. The pollution indicator is colossal and amounts to 372 micrograms per cubic meter of air. This is by far the worst air compared to any other city in the world. A similar situation is created by an unhealthy combination of dust storms and atmospheric emissions. One report said: “The unusual development and growth of the city, the undesirable location of heavy industries such as metallurgical plants, the airport and oil drilling in a nearby city, combined with heavy traffic made the city look like an island of greenhouse effect and pollution” (Chamran University , 2002).

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The average July temperature in Ahwaz is 115.2F. In 2005, the city was also bombed by the Iraq war. Iran is a beautiful country, with many regions with impeccable countryside, but if you are planning to visit Iran as a tourist, it is best to exclude Ahwaz from the list of visits.