Delhi World’s Most Polluted City

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NEW DELHI – It’s no surprisethat pollution is a perpetualproblem in India. But it’s definitelydisheartening to hear thatIndia has slipped 32 ranks in theglobal EnvironmentPerformance Index (EPI) 2014to rank a lowly 155 and its capitalDelhi has earned the dubioustag of being the world’s mostpolluted city.A comparative study of 178countries on nine environmentalparameters released earlierthis month by the US-basedYale University shows that oneof the world’s fastest growingeconomies is a disaster on theenvironmental front.What’s worse, India’s pollutionlevels could be playing havocwith the health of its citizens.“A bottom performer on nearlyevery policy issue included inthe 2014 EPI, with the exceptionof forests, fisheries andwater resources, India’s performancelags most notably inthe protection of human healthfrom environmental harm,” saida statement issued by Yale.The study described India’s airpollution as the worst in theworld, tying with China in termsof the proportion of populationexposed to average air pollutionlevels exceeding WorldHealth Organisation (WHO)thresholds. A deeper look at thedata gathered by a Nasa satelliteshowed that Delhi had the highestparticulate matter 2.5 pollutionlevels followed by Beijing.Delhi, with 810 million registeredvehicles, has repeatedlybeaten the Chinese capital onparticulate matter pollution.The high PM2.5 pollutioncaused by high vehicle densityand industrial emissions is thereason for the dense smog thathas been engulfing Delhi duringthe winter months in the lastfew years, with adverse healthimplications. And whileBeijing’s infamous smog hashogged headlines and promptedgovernment action, even led tothe announcement of rewardsfor cutting back on pollution,the dangers in Delhi have beenlargely ignored.According to a study by theHarvard International Review,every two in five persons inDelhi suffer from respiratoryailments. The Lancet’s GlobalHealth Burden 2013 reporttermed air pollution the sixthbiggest human killer in India.The WHO last year termed airpollution carcinogenic.Particles smaller than 2.5microns in diameter (PM2.5 inshorthand) are fine enough tolodge deep in human lung andblood tissue and cause diseasesranging from stroke to lung cancer,the Yale study said.Anumita Roy Chaudhary, executivedirector of Delhi-basedadvocacy group Centre forScience and Environment, saidpolicy-makers have failed totake the kind of action neededto check phenomenal growth inair pollution in India.