Delhi is the most polluted capital city globally, says report

Delhi remained the most polluted capital city in the world. India, on the whole, had average annual PM 2.5 (particulate matter) levels higher in 2020 than in 2019, according to a report from IQ Air, a Swiss air quality technology company, specialising in protection against airborne pollutants, and developing air quality monitoring and air cleaning products.

Delhi’s concentration levels, based primarily on data from the Central Pollution Control Board, were 84.1 µg/m³, a 15% improvement from the 98.6 µg/m³ recorded last year and attributed to the lockdown. Though the pollution levels were higher — 51.9 µg/m³ this year compared to 58.9 µg/m³ last year — India was only the fifth most polluted country, unlike last year, when its air was the third most noxious. Also read: 1.7 million deaths in India were attributable to air pollution in 2019, says study