India Continues To Dominate List Of Cities With World's Most Toxic Air

The pandemic-induced illusion of blue skies has ended. As the economy recovers, a large number of Indians living in cities are again breathing the most toxic air in the world.

India was home to 35 of 50 most-polluted cities in the world in 2021, according to the annual air quality report by Swiss firm IQAir. New Delhi remained the most polluted capital city for a fourth year running. Bhiwadi, Rajasthan and Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh were the top two cities with worst average air quality in the world.

The year marked a revival for the Indian economy from a devastating second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. That also means improved air quality the country saw during the lockdowns is now over.

In 2021, the average particulate matter 2.5 concentrations in India reached 58.1 micrograms—higher than 51.9 micrograms the year before. This was the first time in three years that India's average air quality has actually worsened.

But that's only half the story. Even the lower figure from 2020 is more than ten times higher than what is deemed safe for breathing by the World Health Organization. Of the 128 cities for which IQAir collected the data, none met the level.

None of this is a surprise in a country that has been grappling with toxic air for years now. Air pollution is the second biggest risk factor contributing to India's disease burden. Each year, over a million people die in India due to bad air, according to Health Effects Institute. It is also responsible for inflicting severe economic damage with the Indian Council of Medical Research estimating that in 2019 alone, deaths due to air pollution caused losses of $36.8 billion.

Yet, year after year the country finds itself in the infamous list of most polluted cities. Its National Clean Air Programme, to cut emissions in cities, lacks any meaningful progress on the ground. Urban local bodies tasked with implementing the programme remain ill-equipped, funds remain underutilised and the air quality monitoring network is much smaller than needed.

"The continuous dominance of India in the world's most polluted cities is a reminder that even though we have started moving on the journey towards clean air through formulation of policies like NCAP, there remains a big gap in their actual implementation," Sunil Dahiya, analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, told BloombergQuint.

Unless India takes an emission-capping approach and limits combustion of fossil fuels, it will be "impossible to provide breathable air" to citizens, he said. "Till then, our cities will keep making it into such lists of most polluted cities."

Globally, too, the annual report paints a grim picture. Not a single city managed to meet the WHO's air quality standard in 2021. While India had among the most polluted cities, the average air quality of Bangladesh, Chad, Pakistan and Tajikistan was worse.