A staggering 12 of the world’s 15 most polluted cities are found in Asia. Three each in India and China, as well as two in Pakistan, are on the list. These cities are all strongly industrialized and densely populated.
The most polluted cities in India require no introduction: the national capital Delhi leads the list with an average AQI of 556, Kolkata is fourth, and Mumbai is sixth on the list, according to the IQAir service. Lahore, Pakistan, and Chengdu, China, are among the cities with the poorest AQI indexes.
The country has been declared a health emergency in Delhi last week as the air quality has deteriorated to the severe category. Three Indian cities have been included in the top ten cities with the poorest air quality indices, according to the air quality and pollution city tracking service from IQAir, a Swiss climate group that is also a technology partner of the United Nations Environmental Program.
According to IQAir in India, Delhi is at the top of the list, with an average AQI of 556, while Kolkata and Mumbai are fourth and sixth on the list, respectively. Some of the other cities in Asia with the worst AQI indexes are Lahore in Pakistan and Chengdu in China.
Here are the ten cities with the worst air quality indicators and pollution rankings, according to IQAir:
1. Delhi, India (AQI: 556)
2. Lahore, Pakistan (AQI: 354)
3. Sofia, Bulgaria (AQI: 178)
4. Kolkata, India (AQI: 177)
5. Zagreb, Croatia (AQI: 173)
6. Mumbai, India (AQI: 169)
7. Belgrade, Serbia (AQI: 165)
8. Chengdu, China (AQI: 165)
9. Skopje, North Macedonia (AQI: 164)
10. Krakow, Poland (AQI: 160)
