Seven cities fromBiharhave figured among the 50 most polluted cities in the world, as per the latest 5th annual world air quality report released by Swiss air tracking firm IQAir.
Patna, Darbhanga, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Chhapra and Hajipur in Bihar are among the 50 most polluted cities, as per the IQAir report, which has ranked India as the world’s eighth most polluted country in 2022.
With an annual Average concentration of particulate matter less than 2.5 microns measured at 90.3 micrograms per cubic metre (g/m3), Darbhanga ranked sixth most polluted city in the world, while Patna was tenth with the annual PM2.5 level measured at 88.8 g/m3.
Incidentally, all seven cities from Bihar in the IQAir’s report had PM2.5 levels more than 10 times higher than the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s prescribed annual safe limit of 5 g/m3.
The IQAir stated in a press statement issued from Switzerland on Tuesday that data from more than 30,000 air quality monitoring stations across 7,323 locations in 131 countries, territories and regions was analysed by its air quality scientists for the report.