Gurgaon fares on top among the most polluted cities in the world, as per a study by IQAir Air Visual and Greenpeace Southeast Asia. The study, which places seven of the top 10 polluted cities in the world from India in the list, puts Delhi on top among most polluted capitals.
Gurugram has been ranked number one polluted city with an annual average PM2.5 (presence of fine particulate matter) reading of 135.8 micrograms per cubic metre, followed by Ghaziabad (135.2 micrograms). Faisalabad in Pakistan has been placed at third position with 130.4 micrograms per cubic metre followed by Faridabad, Bhiwadi (129.1 micrograms), Noida and Patna. Lucknow gets ninth position (115.7 micrograms).
The other two international cities are Hotan, China (116.0 micrograms) and Lahore, Pakistan (114.9 micrograms) at the eighth and tenth positions respectively.
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Delhi is at the 11th position in the top polluted cities of the world. Among capital cities, the national capital has been positioned at the top, followed by Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Kabul, Afghanistan.
Among 30 most polluted cities in India, 22 are from India, making the nation one of the most polluted countries. China, Pakistan and Bangladesh have five, two and one cities each in this chart.
The cities have been raked on the basis of air quality data 2018 from public monitoring sources, including government monitoring networks, as well as validated data from air quality monitors operated by private individuals and organisations.
According to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, the annual permissible limit for PM2.5 is 40ug/m3. As per the annual permissible limit by the World Health Organization (WHO), it is lower than 10ug/m3.
