Where are the most polluted cities in the world? / 1
Data published by WHO have
led many to consider Delhi as "the most polluted city in the world". Opinions
based on these data are weak, because although WHO takes information from
monitoring stations in more than 1,600 cities in all populated continents, only
covers less than a third of the cities of more than 100,000 people. Not all
highly polluted cities are great.
Evaluations and
measurements can be wrong, but they are irrelevant in relation to the magnitude
of the actual numbers. Fourteen or fifteen times above the WHO maximum level
(10 mg / m3) makes no difference. Anyway, if you live there is already dead,
sentenced to diseases you never recover unless escape in time. Sure, it's
easier said.
If you watch the next
scene, in broad daylight, not in the evening or in the early hours of the
morning do you encourage to run to "strengthen" their lungs with exercise?
Joggers and walkers on a
smoggy morning near the India Gate monument in New Delhi. Photograph: Roberto
Schmidt / AFP / Getty Images
Pollution is not only a
matter of undeveloped and poor countries. Also it exists in developed
countries, which of course are not reaching the dantesque levels of the first
(India, China, etc.)
PM2.5 is not the only
form of air pollution - in fact there are many - but is responsible for more
deaths worldwide. Another notable murderer is NO2, now known by the scandalous
attempt by VW to manipulate the presentation of their emissions. In Europe,
diesel cars that emit high NO2 are numerous by the huge subsidy program. In
London, this pollutant kills more people than PM2.5. In the city center, where they
circulate the iconic red buses with diesel engine, Oxford Street is the street most
contaminated with this substance.
In the UK there are now
plans to develop an ultra low emission zone in the capital. The new red buses
are now electric-diesel hybrids. An environmental NGOs used this fact against
the UK government in the European Court of Justice, which sanctioned for its
failure to protect citizens in 40 of 43 urban areas of the country. Residents
of hundreds, perhaps thousands, cities can not make these claims because the
necessary measurements are not registered by their governments.
Oxford Street in London
was named The most polluted road in the world for NO2. Photograph: Peter
Macdiarmid / Getty Images
Here are some views of the
most polluted cities. If you do not live in them, he is lucky, but contribute
to air their city cleaner. NO CONTAMINATE AND BE AWARE OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
TO OUR PLANET.
In this view, no haze or
is a winter day, it's just another day, perhaps noon (China, Beijing)
Buildings are shrouded
in smog in Lianyungang, China Getty
Delhi, India (annual average PM2.5, ug / m3: 153)
Air pollution in Delhi
is mainly caused by industry and traffic, which has produced high levels of several
substances particulate matter - including carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and metal
compounds. According to CNN, there are approximately 8.5 million registered
vehicles in the city.
Smog envelops buildings
on the outskirts of the Indian capital city New Delhi Getty
Patna, India (annual average PM2.5, ug / m3: 149)
The second largest city
in eastern India, Patna has an estimated population 1.68 million in 2011. It is
an important agricultural and commercial center, colas most active exports are
grains, sugar cane, sesame and rice.
Vehicles drive across
Mahatma Gandhi Setu Bridge, built over the River Ganges in the eastern Indian
city of Patna Reuters
Gwalior, India (annual average PM2.5, ug / m3: 144)
Gwalior, one of the
largest cities of Central India, is surrounded by three major industrial and
commercial areas: Sitholi, Banmore and Malanpur.
Men sit on a wall
overlooking the city from the 8th century Gwalior Fort in Gwalior Getty
Raipur, India (annual average PM2.5, ug / m3: 134)
Raipur has become an
important regional commercial and industrial destination for the coal, energy,
steel and aluminum and is the largest steel market in India.
City traffic
Contributing to air pollution is a problem in India Getty
Karachi, Pakistan (annual average PM2.5, ug / m3: 117)
Air pollution, lack of
adequate infrastructure for waste management and degradation of water bodies
are the main environmental problems in Karachi. The city air is quickly
contaminated by emissions from vehicles rickshaws and buses, industrial
emissions, open burning of garbage, trash fires and house.
Children walk across an
improvised bridge Placed above a drain full of rubbish in a slum area of KarachiGetty
Peshawar, Pakistan (annual average PM2.5, ug / m3:
111)
Emissions from vehicles,
industrial emissions and brick kilns, burning of solid waste and waste, poorly
maintained vehicles are some of the sources of pollution in Peshawar.
Labourers work as smoke
rises from a brick kiln in PeshawarGetty / AFP
Rawalpindi, Pakistan (annual average PM2.5, ug / m3:
107)
A rapidly growing city
in the northern region of Pothohar Punjab, Pakistan, Rawalpindi is home to
several textile factories. Their high traffic levels have increased air
pollution in the region.
A man shovels sand and
salt into an oven at a factory in Rawalpindi Reuters
Khorramabad, Iran (annual average PM2.5, ug / m3: 102)
In 2012, pollution
contributed to the premature deaths of 4,500 people in Tehran and about 80,000
throughout Iran, according to the Ministry of Health.
Khoramabad, in Lorestan
Province of Iran, is the basis of the regional agricultural industryWiki
Commons / Ninara
Ahmedabad, India (annual average PM2.5, ug / m3: 100)
Ahmedabad has become an
important economic and industrial center in India and is the second largest
producer of cotton in the country. The heavy duty construction, infrastructure
and housing has contributed to high levels of air pollution.
Labourers travel in a
tractor trolley past hospital buildings under construction in Ahmedabad, India
Reuters
Lucknow, India (annual average PM2.5, ug / m3: 96)
The capital of Uttar
Pradesh is among the most polluted cities. The lack of transport infrastructure
and increasing number of vehicles aggravates the problem, according to India's
Centre for Science and Environment.
Scavengers search for
usable refuse in a garbage dump in LucknowReuters
References
What is 2-5 PM?
https://www3.epa.gov/pmdesignations/faq.htm#0
Karl Mathiesen (2015) Where is the World's Most Polluted city?
December 2, 2015
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/dec/02/where-world-most-polluted-city-air-pollution
World Environment Day 2015: 10 Most polluted cities in the world
• June 4 2015 12:00 BST
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/world-environment-day-10-most-polluted-cities-world-1504260
