Delhi’s Polluted Air Needs Our Attention
Three Indian cities—Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai—have captured the top ten spots in the worst Air Quality Index (AQI) is certainly worrisome. Delhi with its AQI of 556 tops the list, Kolkatta ranks fourth and Mumbai captures the six spot in this notorious list. This was made by the Swiss based air quality technology company, specializing in protection against airborne pollutants, developing air quality monitoring and air cleaning products.
The ten cities with the worst air quality indicators and pollution rankings, according to IQAir:
1. Delhi, India (AQI: 556)
2. Lahore, Pakistan (AQI: 354)
3. Sofia, Bulgaria (AQI: 178)
4. Kolkata, India (AQI: 177)
5. Zagreb, Croatia (AQI: 173)
6. Mumbai, India (AQI: 169)
7. Belgrade, Serbia (AQI: 165)
8. Chengdu, China (AQI: 165)
9. Skopje, North Macedonia (AQI: 164)
10. Krakow, Poland (AQI: 160)
Average levels of the most dangerous airborne particles—those less than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) —are 14 times as high as the WHO’s recommended limit !
Now, the onus is on the Delhi State Government as well as Central Government to do something about it. The respective governments should include hundreds of NGOs who are fighting for this cause to create a long-term plan to avoid the alarming pollution level of Delhi. Already reached the level of emergency, the pollution issue should be taken seriously as it may affect nearly 20 million of the Delhi citizen’s health drastically. Already, the Delhi Government had requested its citizen to stay at home. Soon, the authorities, have to work out a strategy to tackle this menacing pollution problem.
By
Editor-in-Chief