Lahore is world’s most polluted city, followed by New Delhi: US Air Quality Index

Lahore is world’s most polluted city, followed by New Delhi: US Air Quality Index

• Lahore, the cultural capital Pakistan, has been ranked as the world’s most polluted city, according to air pollution data released by the US Air Quality Index (AQI) on 30 November 2020.
• Lahore reported a particulate matter (PM) rating of 423.
• New Delhi stood second with a PM of 229, while Nepal’s capital Kathmandu ranked the third with a PM of 178.

About AQI

• The Air Quality Index (AQI) is released by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to give people an idea of whether it’s safe to breathe the air. 
• AQI is based on the levels of five major pollutants regulated by the EPA: ground-level ozone, particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. 
• AQI measures air quality by placing it on a scale of 0-500, where air quality is regarded satisfactory if the AQI is under 50.