Delhi world’s most polluted capital for 6th straight year.

Tags: Reports

Why in the news?

• With anaverage PM 2.5 concentration of 91.8 μg/m3, Delhi continues to be the most polluted national capital in the world for the sixth consecutive year, according to the 2024 World Air Quality Report.

Important points:

• 13 of the world's top 20 most polluted cities are in India, with Byrnihat in Assam topping the list, according to a new report published on March 11, 2025.
• The World Air Quality Report 2024 by Swiss air quality technology company IQAir said Delhi remains the most polluted capital city globally.
• The other cities include Faridabad, Loni (Ghaziabad), Gurgaon, Greater Noida, Bhiwadi, Noida, Muzaffarnagar, New Delhi (Central Delhi) and Delhi (taking the average from the rest of the city).
• India is the fifth most polluted country in the world, with an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 50.6 μg/m3 ,10 times higher than the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual PM2.5 guideline value of 5 μg/m3. 
• In 2023, it was the third most polluted country.
• The report notes that air pollution leaves a significant toll on health in India,reducing life expectancy by about 5.2 years.