A new study showed that all of the 20 best cities in the world were more polluted last year in Asia, a new study showed.
The majority of these cities-13-H-in the most populated countries in the world, India, where booming economic growth is largely launched by coal and where hundreds of millions live in the huge that was raised by passing and crowded.
Four others in neighboring Pakistan, with one in China and Kazakhstan, respectively.
The only city outside Asia that appeared in the list is N’djamena, the capital of Chad in Central Africa – the country was named with the worst air pollution.
Meanwhile, cities with the worst pollution in North America in California were.
The report submitted by Erd, a Swiss company that follows international air quality, specifically looked at the fine particles, or PM2.5, one of the smallest most dangerous pollutants.
PM2.5 comes from sources such as combustion of fossil fuels, dirt storms and forest fires. It is very small – 1/20 of human hair width – so that it can travel through your usual body defenses to your lungs or bloodstream.
The molecules cause irritation and inflammation and are associated with respiratory problems and chronic kidney disease. Exposure can cause cancer, stroke, or heart attacks and associated with increased risk of depression and anxiety.
A bird flies through a thick layer of smoky fog in New Delhi, India, on November 20, 2024 – Manish Swarob/AP/File
N’djamena, Chad, was classified as the most polluted city in 2024.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that the average annual level of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter.
Byrnihat, an industrial town in northeastern India, was recorded by PM2.5 concentration of 128.2 last year – more than 25 times the World Health Organization level.
“It is extremely sad and many that Berniaat continues to issue the list,” Suman Momain, 26, who lives in a city about 70,000, told CNN.
It blamed factories throughout the city, the booming construction industry and trees that contribute to the contribution to the toxic air.
She said: “Pollution is particularly bad at the present time, the vision is not great, and there is dust everywhere, and my eyes are also burning.”
“I do not leave the house without a mask.”
Twelve other cities in the best 20 cities in India.
Its capital, New Delhi, appeared as the most prominent capital in the world for the sixth year in a row, with the PM2.5 concentration. The report also included six satellite cities – Faridabad, Loony, Delhi, Gorgram, Nuwaida and Greater Nuwaida – Making the list.
Only last November, a blanket of the smoke fog in Delhi settled, which resulted in the disruption of flights, the prevention of views and the city’s prime minister to declare a “medical emergency.”
But in general, India has decreased the most populated in the world with 1.4 billion people fell from third to fifth of the previous year, according to the report.
But the report said that air pollution “is still a big healthy burden … reduces the average life expectancy of about 5.2 years.”
A man wears a mask walking next to a small iron factory in Lahore, Pakistan, on January 16, 2024. – Km Chaudary/AP
The neighbors of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, were with two dominated for about 400 million people-second and third in polluted countries around the world in terms of PM2.5 particles, according to the report.
The report said that China – which was dominating the world’s worst air rankings – has noticed a slight improvement.
Its average annual national annual PM2.5 fell from 32.5 micrograms per cubic meter to 31, with the improvement of air quality in the huge such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, according to the report.
China is the largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world, but in recent years it has launched a campaign against air pollution, especially in cities that fueled its economic growth, and has pushed a tremendous expansion of solar energy and wind.
But last month, two clean energy groups sparked a warning about what they said were planned by the energy industry in China to build nearly 100 gigawatts of the capacity of the new coal factory last year, which is nearly a decade.
The IQ AIR report in the world showed that all the world’s most polluted cities last year exceeded the World Health Organization exceeding 10 times.
Data gaps
“Air pollution continues to be a decisive threat to human health and environmental stability, but the vast population is still unaware of their levels of exposure,” said Frank Hamz, I qair.
Iran and Afghanistan did not appear in this year’s report due to a lack of data availability.
The report found that the air quality control in Southeast Asia also represents a problem, as almost all countries enjoy “large gaps in government -led initiatives.”
Car vehicles amid high levels of air pollution in Hanoi, Vietnam, on March 5, 2024. – NHAC NGUYEN/AFP/Getty Images
In 2024, 173 out of 392 cities in the region lacked government surveillance stations, while Cambodia had nothing.
These problems may be exacerbated after the United States announced earlier this month that it will stop sharing the air quality data collected from its embassies and consulates around the world because of the “financing restrictions” reported by the Associated Press.
“Air quality data saves lives,” said Hamz.
“It creates awareness that affects the need, informs politics decisions, directs public health interventions, and enables societies to take measures to reduce air pollution and protect future generations.”
The worst city in North America
The report said that only 17 % of 8,954 cities were analyzed globally by acknowledging the recorded air quality that achieved the guidelines of pollution of the World Health Organization.
The report said that the cities with the worst air pollution in North America were Ontario, Saltongton, Huntington Park – all in California.
In general, the United States witnessed a significant decrease in PM2.5 levels last year, with the annual average of 22 % from 2023.
North America has always been proud of strong air quality control systems, as it contributed 56 % of the total number of ground air quality monitoring stations included in the Air Intelligence Report-helping scientists in their ongoing research on air quality and policy makers to make decisions on public health.
Only 12 countries, areas and regions of PM2.5 concentrations were recorded less than the guidelines of the World Health Organization, most of which were in Latin America, the Caribbean or Oceania.
The report called on governments to perpetuate funding for renewable energy projects and “enhance emissions of vehicles and industrial activities.”
Suman’s tip of the authorities in Bernnat will take her to save her city from appearing at the top of the most polluted list again next year.
“The people around them have developed breathing issues over the years as well,” she told CNN.
“This is my hometown. I am local. I don’t want to leave this area. We want governments to do more, gather and work for us.”
Aishwarya S Iyer contributed to the reports
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