Environmental Infection: The 20 cities that distract sad first

Air pollution “drowns” Asia, according to the list issued for the most contaminated countries on the planet, including 20 Megalopouis that life is unbearable due to smog.

Of the 20 most multifaceted cities, 19 are in Asia and 13 of them only in India where economic growth is largely triggered by carbon.

Other 4 are in the neighboring Pakistan and from one to China And Kazakhstan.

The only city outside of Asia displayed on the list is the N’djamena, The capital of Chad in Central Africa – which has the “lead” as the country with the worst air pollution.

Also, the cities with the worst pollution in North America were all in California.

‘An invisible killer’

The IQAIR report, a Swiss company that monitors global air quality, examined fine particles, or PM2.5, one of the smallest but most dangerous pollutants.

PM2.5 comes from sources such as burning fossil fuels, dust storms and fires. It is so tiny – 1/20 of the width of a human hair – which can travel beyond the usual defenses of the human body, lungs or blood circulation.

The particles cause irritation and inflammation and have been associated with respiratory problems and chronic kidney disease. Exposure to these particles can cause cancer, stroke or heart attack and has been associated with a higher risk of depression and anxiety.

The World Health Organization (which) stipulates that the average annual PM2.5 levels should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter.

Byrnihat, an industrial city in northeast India, recorded PM2.5 128.2 last year – over 25 times its model.

The report said that air pollution “remains significant for health … reducing life expectancy by about 5.2 years”.

“It is very sad that Byrnihat is still on top of the list,” Suman Momin, 26, who lives in the world’s most polluted city with 70,000 residents, told CNN.

Another 12 among the 20 with the most contaminated atmosphere are in India.

The capital of India, New Delhi for the 6th consecutive year, is ranked the most infected capitals in the world with a PM2.5 91.8 concentration. The exhibition also lists 6 cities -faridabad, Loni, Delhi, Gurugram, Noida and Greater Noida -on the list.

Last November, a smog she settled over Delhi, pushing the prime minister to declare the capital in a “medical emergency”.

However, overall, India – the world’s most crowded nation with 1.4 billion people fell from third, fifth in the previous year, according to the report.

The neighboring countries of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, are the second and third, respectively more polluted countries in the world in terms of PM2.5 molecules, according to the report.

China – which dominated the world’s world rankings – made a slight improvement, the report said.

Beijing cleared its toxic air

The National Annual Average PM2.5 concentration was reduced by 32.5 micrograms per cubic meter to 31, with air quality improved in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the report said.

China is the largest carbon dioxide broadcast in the world, but in recent years it has a campaign against air pollution, especially in cities that have fueled its economic growth and prompted a huge expansion of solar and wind energy.

Data gaps

All 20 of the most infected cities in the world last year exceeded his instructions that for PM2.5 by 10 times above the boundaries, according to the IQ Air report.

“Atmospheric pollution remains a critical threat to both human health and environmental stability, but huge populations do not know their exposure levels“, Said Frank Hammes, IQAIR World CEO.

Iran and Afghanistan were not included in this year’s report due to lack of data availability.

Monitoring of air quality in Southeast Asia is also a problem, as almost all countries have “important gaps in government initiatives“The report says.

In 2024, 173 of the 392 cities in the area had no government surveillance stations, while Cambodia had no one.

These problems are likely to deteriorate as the US has announced that they will stop sharing data on air quality gathered by embassies and consulates worldwide because of ”funding restrictions“, Said the Associated Press.

North America’s worst cities

Only 17% of the 8,954 cities analyzed worldwide by IQAIR recorded the quality of the air that fulfilled its pollution instructions.

Cities with the worst air pollution in North America It was Ontario, Bloomington and Huntington Park – all in California.

Overall, the United States declined a significant decrease in PM2.5 levels last year, with the annual average decreasing by 22% by 2023.

Only 12 countries, regions recorded PM2.5 gatherings below its guidelines which, most of which were in Latin America and the Caribbean or Oceania region.