New Delhi: India accounted for 49 of the world’s 50 most polluted cities on Monday, highlighting the worsening air quality across the country as winter pollution grips large parts of northern India, according to data from AQI.in.
A global city ranking recorded at 9:54 am on November 10 placed Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar at the top with an alarming Air Quality Index (AQI) of 821. Punjab’s Bathinda followed with an AQI of 629, while Haryana’s Sirsa ranked third with a reading of 544.
Hisar in Haryana and Faridkot in Punjab occupied the fourth and fifth positions, recording AQI levels of 516 and 506, respectively.
Pakistan’s Lahore was the only city outside India to feature in the top 50, ranking 14th with an AQI of 430.
The national capital, meanwhile, stood at the 24th position with an AQI of 393, as several cities across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh continued to record hazardous pollution levels.
The pollution crisis comes in the aftermath of Diwali celebrations on November 8, when firecracker use despite restrictions contributed to a sharp deterioration in Delhi’s air quality.
On November 9, the morning after Diwali, Delhi recorded an AQI of 663, marking a 69% increase compared to the post-Diwali reading recorded last year.
The worsening air quality has also triggered a political confrontation, with Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra accusing people of deliberately setting agricultural fields on fire in Punjab and alleging a rise in stubble-burning incidents. The Aam Aadmi Party rejected the allegations, with both sides trading charges over the causes of the pollution.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast no rainfall in Delhi until November 15. Although a western disturbance is expected to bring rain and snowfall to parts of the Himalayas, the national capital is unlikely to receive immediate relief.
In the absence of rainfall or stronger winds to disperse pollutants, air quality across the region is expected to remain severely affected.
