Leaving behind Delhi, Mumbai emerged as the most polluted city in India and the second-most polluted city globally within a week between January 29 and February 8, according to Swiss air tracking index IQAir, a real-time air quality monitor.
Earlier on January 29, Mumbai was ranked 10th in IQAir rankings in terms of poorest positions. However, Delhi did not feature in the top 10 most-polluted cities list.
Then it again climbed to the top of the stack on February 2 before falling in the following days. Mumbai once again rose and got second place on February 8. On February 13, Mumbai climbed above Delhi as the most polluted city in India and was the third-most unhealthy city worldwide with regard to air quality.
What is IQAir?
Swiss air tracking index IQAir, in collaboration with UNEP and Greenpeace, measures air quality in India using data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). It categorises the air quality as “healthy”, “unhealthy” and “hazardous” as per US air quality index (AQI) standards. Notably, the pollution standards used by America are more strict than India.
Air quality in Mumbai
The CPCB data underlined that Poor and Very Poor days in Mumbai in November-January during the ongoing winter season were more than double over the three previous winters.
Dust aroused from construction work and vehicular emissions makes up the major part of this pollution in the city.
Top 10 most-polluted cities in the world
- Lahore (Pakistan)
- Mumbai (India)
- Kabul (Afghanistan)
- Kaohsiung (Taiwan)
- Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan)
- Accra (Ghana)
- Krakow (Poland)
- Doha (Qatar)
- Astana (Kazakhstan)
- Santiago (Chile)