83 of the World’s 100 Worst Polluted Cities are in India

All but one of the 100 cities with the world’s worst air pollution last year were in Asia, according to the 2023 IQAir World Air Quality Report, with the climate crisis playing a pivotal role in bad air quality that is risking the health of billions of people worldwide. 

 

The vast majority of these cities – eighty-three – were in India and all exceeded the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines by more than 10 times, according to the report by IQAir, which tracks air quality worldwide. The study looked specifically at fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, which is the tiniest pollutant but also the most dangerous. 

 

Only 9% of more than 7,800 cities analyzed globally recorded air quality that met WHO’s standard, which says average annual levels of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter. 

 

“We see that in every part of our lives that air pollution has an impact”, said IQAir Global CEO Frank Hammes. “And it typically, in some of the most polluted countries, is likely shaving off anywhere between three to six years of people’s lives. And then before that will lead to many years of suffering that are entirely preventable if there’s better air quality”. 

 

When inhaled, PM2.5 travels deep into lung tissue where it can enter the bloodstream. It comes from sources like the combustion of fossil fuels, dust storms and wildfires, and has been linked to asthma, heart and lung disease, cancer, and other respiratory illnesses, as well as cognitive impairment in children. 

 

Begusarai, a city of half a million people in northern India’s Bihar state, was the world’s most polluted city last year with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 118.9 – 23 times the WHO guidelines. It was followed in the IQAir rankings by the Indian cities of Guwahati, Assam; Delhi; and Mullanpur, Punjab. Across India, 1.3 billion people, or 96% of the population, live with air quality seven times higher than WHO guidelines, according to the report. 

 

Central and South Asia were the worst performing regions globally, home to all four of the most polluted countries last year: Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Tajikistan. South Asia is of particular concern, with 29 of the 30 most polluted cities in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. The report ranked the major population centers of Lahore in 5th, New Delhi in 6th and Dhaka in 24th place. 

 

IQAir found that 92.5% of the 7,812 locations in 134 countries, regions, and territories where they analyzed average air quality last year exceeded WHO’s PM2.5 guidelines. 

 

Only 10 countries and territories had “healthy” air quality: Finland, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and French Polynesia.

Mauritius Challenges UK's "Ownership" of Chagos Archipelago

UK’s "ownership" of the Chagos archipelago has been formally challenged after the Mauritian ambassador to the UN, Jagdish Koonjul, raised his country’s flag above the atoll of Peros Banhos. 

In a Monday ceremony, Mauritian officials sang their country’s national anthem and the red, blue, yellow and green standard was raised up the flagpole. 

Koonjul said: “We are performing the symbolic act of raising the flag as the British have done so many times to establish colonies. We, however, are reclaiming what has always been our own”. 

A pre-recorded message by the Mauritian prime minister, Pravind Jugnauth, was broadcast on a speaker to the Chagossians, Mauritian officials and media assembled on the beach. He described it as an "historic moment", saying it was time for the UK to cede control. 

The event was the culmination of a reef-mapping trip to the islands organized by the Mauritian government – and Jugnauth described the visit as "the first time Mauritius has led an expedition to this part of its territory". 

It is half a century since Britain took control of the Chagos Islands from its then colony, Mauritius, and in 1972, even evicted the population of more than 1,000 people in order to make way for a US military base. 

In fact, three UN bodies have ruled that the archipelago – more than 5,000 miles away from the UK – is part of Britain's old empire and should be handed to Mauritius. 

Mauritius says the UK is occupying the islands illegally – which the latter, of course, denies. Its Foreign Office said: "The UK has no doubt as to our sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory, which we have held continuously since 1814. Mauritius has never held sovereignty over the territory and the UK does not recognise its claim”. 

Wah, the colonizers are still carrying that arrogant attitude about them!

Yesterday, Norwegian champions Bodø/Glimt thumped Celtic 3-1 in Glasgow and leaving the latter with a mountain to climb to reach the Europa Conference League last 16. 

The latter’s manager Ange Postecoglou intoned that it was only half-time. “There's another game to go and we'll go there, play our football, and see what we do”. 

The Scottish side will need a huge performance in Norway next week to keep their European hopes alive.