Top 10 Most Polluted Cities In the World

By Lynnet Okumu / Published September 15, 2022 | 11:48 am

KEY POINTS

Inequality is also a factor in air pollution, with more than 90 percent of air pollution deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries, mainly in Africa and Asia. Even within cities, poorer areas are more affected by air pollution than richer areas.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

With a population of some 10.36 million inhabitants, Hangzhou, a city located in the upper northeastern region of China, ranked second on the list.

One of the main causes would be vehicular emissions, with enormous amounts of urban infrastructure having been built to facilitate the ease of vehicle usage, causing many personal vehicles to be relied upon by its citizens.

Air pollution has been called the most-pressing environmental health crisis of our time, responsible for an estimated 7 million premature deaths every year.

According to the UN Environmental Program (UNEP), approximately nine in 10 people around the world breathe unclean air, which increases the risk of asthma, heart disease, and lung cancer.

City dwellers, especially the poor, often suffer the most from air pollution, which along with imperiling lives, feeds climate change.

UNEP’s 2021 Actions on Air Quality report states that countries are increasingly adopting incentives or policies promoting cleaner production, energy efficiency, and pollution abatement for industries and have more policies outlawing the burning of solid waste. Yet, much more needs to be done.

Only 31 percent of countries have legal mechanisms for managing or addressing transboundary air pollution, while 43 percent of countries even lack a legal definition for air pollution. Most countries still lack consistent air quality monitoring and air quality management frameworks.

Here is a list of the most polluted cities across the globe according to the World of Statistics

Lahore

Lahore’s air quality index was recorded at 164 points making it the most polluted city in the world.

Hangzhou

With a population of some 10.36 million inhabitants, Hangzhou, a city located in the upper northeastern region of China, ranked second on the list.

Dhaka

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh has been ranked the third most polluted in the world.

Karachi

Karachi has turned out to be the world’s fourth largest polluted city as its air quality index has surged to an unhealthy level, showing utter negligence of the federal and Sindh governments towards environmental reforms