The World Air Quality Report released by Swiss organization IQAir is based on PM 2.5 data from 6,475 cities in 117 countries.
Air pollution has a massive impact on human health in India. The researchers said, “India was home to 11 of the 15 most polluted cities in Central and South Asia in 2021. Delhi saw a 14.6 per cent increase in PM2.5 concentrations in 2021 with levels rising to 96.4 ug/m3 from 84 ug/m3 in 2020. No cities in India met the WHO air quality guideline of 5 ug/m3. In 2021, 48% of India’s cities exceeded 50 ug/m3, or more than 10 times the WHO guideline.”
Air pollution causes and aggravates many diseases, ranging from asthma to cancer, lung illnesses and heart disease and in this age of COVID-19, researchers have found that exposure to PM2.5 increases both the risk of contracting the virus and of suffering more severe symptoms when infected, including death.
