Delhi is world’s most polluted capital city for second year in a row

New Delhi, Mar 22: For a second year in a row, New Delhi has been ranked as the world's most polluted capital city.

Delhi is followed by Dhaka (Bangladesh), N'Djamena (Chad), Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Muscat (Oman). 12 of the 15 most polluted cities in Central and South Asia are in India.

New Delhi witnessed a 14.6 per cent increase in the PM2.5 concentration in 2021, 96.4 Ig/m3, up from 84 Ig/m3 in 2020. Crop burning is a common issue in India and during the winter months smoke is responsible for nearly 45 per cent of the pollution in the city.

According to the World Air Quality report, only three per cent of the cities and not a single country has met the latest WHO PM2.5 annual air quality guidelines. The report.

This report underscores just how much work remains to be done to ensure that everyone has safe, clean and healthy air to breathe. The time for action is now," the CEO of IQAir, Frank Hammes said.

The national capital experienced a hot morning on Tuesday with the minimum temperature settling at 22.5 degrees Celsius, five notches above the normal, according to official data.

The relative humidity at 8:30 am was 69 per cent, the India Meteorological Department stated.
Delhi had recorded its highest maximum temperature of the season on Monday. It had logged a high of 36.6 degrees Celsius and a low of 20.5 degrees Celsius.

The maximum temperature on Tuesday is likely to hover around 36 degrees Celsius and strong surface winds have been forecast.

The air quality index (AQI) of Delhi was in the 'poor' category (reading 215) in the morning, according to Central Pollution Control Board data at 9:45 am.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe.