The latest WHO and Greenpeace India ranking of cities based on ambient air quality had stated that 14 of the 15 most polluted cities in the world are in India. Kanpur was ranked the most polluted, followed by Faridabad and Varanasi on the second and third spots, respectively. The national capital, Delhi was on the sixth spot. 

Greenpeace India Report :

• The National Capital Region (NCR) cities of Gurgaon and Faridabad were among the most polluted cities in the country, shows a report on air pollution data compiled by Greenpeace India.
• The report revealed that the average level of PM10 in Faridabad was 272 making it the second most-polluted city in the country. Though Gurgaon fared better than Faridabad, the PM10 level stood at 227 making it the 12th most polluted city in the country.
• The report vindicates what the city residents have been crying about for years—that pollution level has reached dangerous levels and serious measures will have to be taken by the government to bring the situation under control.
• The list of most polluted cities in the country was topped by Delhi, with PM10 level at 290.
• With 15 of its cities among the 30 most polluted cities of the country, Uttar Pradesh is India’s most polluted state, shows the second edition of Airpocalypse, by Greenpeace India.
• Airpocalypse-II is based on the air pollution data collected from the Central and State Pollution Control Boards’ and committees’ annual reports and their websites, and through applications under the Right to Information Act.
• The report, which exposes the bitter truth about the poor air quality in Delhi-NCR brought out the list of most polluted cities in the country based on particulate matter data of PM10 levels for 280 cities during 2016, and, in some cases, also 2015.
• The detailed report on the air quality of Indian cities reveals that none of the 280 cities covered in the report comply with the level of PM10 as fixed by the World Health Organisation at 20. As many as 80% of these cities also do not even comply with India’s PM10 level—60, which has been set by the CPCB.
• The data made available through this report, holds significance for 630 million people. Of these, a staggering 550 million are living in the virtual red zone where PM10 levels are more than the nationally acceptable limits. Of these, 47 million are children below the age of five.
• Particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter, about 1/7th the thickness of the a human hair, are known as PM10. It is among the most harmful of all air pollutants. When inhaled these particles evade the respiratory system’s natural defences and lodge deep in the lungs. PM10 is often responsible for much of the haze that we call smog.

Way Ahead :

• "IQAir AirVisual 2018 World Air Quality Report" is a reminder to us indicating that our efforts and actions to reduce the invisible killer, i.e., air pollution are not enough, and we need to do much more than already planned and done.
• If we want India to breathe clean air, it's high time that our plans such as NCAP, GRAP, CAP etc. becomes much more stringent, aggressive, legally binding and most of all implementable at ground rather than being just used a political statement without much happening at ground.