We need fewer and cleaner vehicles with a Clean Air Zone in every city and large town – and politicians must urgently introduce a diesel scrappage scheme to get the worst polluting vehicles off our roads, as well as more investment in alternatives to driving’.
Advertisement
The group’s database has doubled over the past two years to include 3,000 cities in 103 countries.
People who live in poorer cities have it the worst.
Tracking the presence of harmful pollutants like sulfate and black carbon, World Health Organization found that air quality was generally improving in richer regions like Europe and North America, but worsening in developing regions, notably the Middle East and the Southeast Asia.
Maria Neira, a public health official of WHO said: “Probably some of the worst cities that are the most polluted ones in the world are not included in our list, just because they are so bad that they do not even have a good system of monitoring of air quality, so it’s unfair to compare or give a rank”.
According to the World Health Organization report, Delhi ranked 11th out of 3,000 cities/towns for PM 2.5 concentration levels and 25th for PM 10.
“Ambient” air pollution, made up of small particles in the air, is said to cause more than three million premature deaths around the world each year.
“When dirty air blankets our cities the most vulnerable urban populations-the youngest, oldest and poorest-are the most impacted”, Bustreo went on to add.
The change coincides with a series of air-clearing measures including banning older cars and cargo trucks from city limits.
“New Delhi has succeeded in arresting the trend, which shows that if you take action, you will see results”, said Anumita Roychowdhury of the Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment.
India has four cities namely, Gwalior, Raipur, Patna and Allahabad among top 10 polluted countries in the world. But WHO technical officer Sophie Gumy cautioned against drawing too many comparisons between cities from different continents, saying the data from various sources doesn’t always line up exactly. “We have overwhelming evidence of the impact of air pollution on stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic and acute respiratory diseases”, she said. And rainy seasons can rinse away air pollution, while drier climates can let the pollution linger.
The Indian capital of New Delhi, which had previously topped the list, dropped to No 9 after the city managed to decrease its annual average concentration of particulate matter by about 20% from 2014 to 2015.
However pollution remains a major issue, with a number of countries breaching safety levels of air pollution.
Advertisement
The agency praised efforts by policymakers to promote cleaner transportation, more efficient energy and better waste management and said some cities had worked to reduce their air pollution.
