With the rising levels of air pollution, around 14 districts of Uttar Pradesh have been placed under IQAir Report of Top-50 Most Polluted Cities in the world. Additionally, Ghaziabad has also been placed at the no. 2 spot in the World’s ranking with an average 102 PM 2.5 concentration. Lucknow too is included in the global index list at 16th position due to raising health alarms.
For general awareness, if the air quality has as per PM2.5 concentration that sits between 0-5 g/m3 according to the guidelines of 2021 September then it’s approved good air quality. The second more polluted city in the world i.e Ghaziabad recorded a concentration of almost 102 PM2.5, meaning 20 times more dangerous than the standard.
With that said, 13 other districts from UP Kanpur, Meerut, Agra, Amroha, Jaunpur, Varanasi, Noida, and Greater Noida have also been featured in the list.
Lucknow has ranked at 16th spot in the Top-50 Most Polluted Cities of the World list, with the position going higher up at 16th in Asia, 11th in India with no.6th in the U.P. The city AQI as per real-time records balanced at 99 units on Wednesday, with a PM2.5 concentration that is nearly 7 times over the WHO limit.
While several reasons can be pointed out regarding the increase in the level of pollution in the U.P state. Some can be mentioned like vehicular emissions, the construction sector and events like crop burning, power generation, biomass combustion for cooking, industrial waste have been listed as the key factors. People are now becoming more cautious towards their health, wearing a mask whenever going out in order to avoid pulmonary disorders. Those who are already suffering from respiratory problems are advised to stay indoors.
