(Deepshikha Gautam, Intern Journalist) New Delhi: India’s capital Delhi is also included in a recent report released by the US on pollution. Lahore is at number one in the list of most polluted cities in the world while Delhi is at number two. The city of Lahore considered the cultural capital of Pakistan, topped the world’s most polluted cities, according to data released on Monday by the US Air Quality Index. The maximum particulate matter (PM) rating in Lahore was 423. Karachi, the city of Pakistan, ranked among the top 10 polluted cities in the world.
The capital of India, New Delhi, came second with an AQI of 229 (Air Quality Index, AQI). At the same time, Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, ranked third among the world’s most polluted cities. PM 178 was recorded in Kathmandu. The US Environmental Protection Agency considers AQI within 50 as satisfactory. The air quality index of Lahore remained above 301 which is considered dangerous. Karachi is at number seven in the ranking of polluted cities. To curb pollution in Pakistan, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority in Punjab has been given a closure date for 613 brick kilns, 2,148 industries, and 8,579 vehicles. The PDMA has arrested 478 people on this issue.
The air pollution in Delhi was already of poor air index quality, which has now reached the category of worst to worst, due to which the situation has become very worrying. According to the index, the pollution level will remain in a very poor category for the next two days, that is till Thursday morning. Apart from all the other reasons in Delhi and NCR, two important reasons are also responsible for the worsening of air pollution. One is that the wind speed has decreased and the second is that the temperature has also come down, which has helped to increase the pollution level in Delhi NCR. Delhi-based metros Gurugram and Faridabad have also seen an increase in pollution.
However, except for Gurugram and Faridabad, pollution levels in other cities under Delhi-NCR have reached the very poor category. Air quality in Gurugram and Faridabad was in the poor category even before, but the pollution levels in these two cities also increased compared to Sunday and the air index in these two cities reached a high level in the poor category. The frightening situation here is that the Central Pollution Control Board says that the air index may increase on Tuesday, December 1 as well.
According to earlier reports by the Food and Agriculture Organization, stubble burning, transportation, and industries cause pollution throughout the year. Not only this, many brick kilns are operating in the old way, which is a big reason for air pollution.
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