India has emerged as the world’s third most polluted country. In 2023, India’s air quality, with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 54.4 micrograms per cubic metre, was better than only two countries – Bangladesh and Pakistan, according to the World Air Quality Report 2023 by Swiss organisation IQAir. Bangladesh had 9.9 micrograms per cubic metre while Pakistan had 73.7 micrograms per cubic metre. These two, among 134 countries, beat India to become the most polluted and the second most polluted country in the world, respectively. In the previous year, India ranked much lower at the eighth position. In 2022, India had an average PM2.5 concentration of 53.3 micrograms per cubic metre. Meanwhile, Bihar’s Begusarai was termed the world’s most polluted metropolitan area. It had an average PM2.5 concentration of 118.9 micrograms per cubic metre. Interestingly, the state’s financial capital did not make it to the 2022 list. Delhi, on the other hand, became the capital city with the poorest air quality, according to the IQAir report. Delhi’s PM2.5 levels worsened to 92.7 micrograms per cubic metre in 2023. It was 89.1 micrograms per cubic metre in 2022. This is the fourth consecutive time Delhi has emerged as the world’s most polluted capital city. Ten out of the top 11 most polluted cities in the world are from India, the other being Lahore in Pakistan. https://today-news.co.in/2024/03/20/india-had-worlds-3rd-worst-air-in-23-delhi-foulest-capital/