PREVIEW

The capital of India was found to be the world's most polluted capital city in 2023, according to air-quality monitoring group IQAir. India was also ranked as the third-most polluted country after Bangladesh and Pakistan, BBC reports. In 2022, India was the eighth most polluted country. According to the report, the average level of fine particulate matter PM2.5 in India's air was 54.4 micrograms per cubic meter. Delhi's air quality had a PM2.5 reading of 92.7 micrograms per cubic meter. Air that is considered safe to breathe typically has 12 to 15 micrograms per cubic meter of PM2.5, BBC reports. Levels higher than 35 micrograms per cubic meter are thought to be unhealthy. Only seven countries were within the World Health Organization's yearly PM2.5 guideline, an "average of 5 micrograms per cubic meter or less," BBC reports. Those countries are Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand. "In 2023 air pollution remained a global health catastrophe, IQAir’s global data set provides an important reminder of the resulting injustices and the need to implement the many solutions that exist to this problem.", Aidan Farrow, senior air quality scientist at Greenpeace International, via 'The Guardian'

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