(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –Fourteen Indian cities are among the world’s 20 most polluted, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data.
BBC analysis of the study shows the northern city of Kanpur tops the list of world cities with the highest PM2.5 levels in 2016.
PM2.5 are tiny but deadly air particles, which can increase the likelihood of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
Air pollution caused 4.2 million deaths globally in 2016, the study said.
Kanpur’s average PM2.5 level in the same year was 173, which is 17 times higher than the WHO’s safe limit.
India’s capital, Delhi, is in sixth spot with average PM2.5 levels recorded at 143.
The study added that nine out of 10 people in the world breathe polluted air.
Around 3.8 million people died in 2016 due to pollution “from cooking with polluting fuels and technologies”, it said.
(BBC)
