New Delhi: Delhi was the world’s most-polluted major city on Saturday, a day before Diwali, according to Swiss group IQAir’s live ranking.
According to IQAir, Delhi was ranked first among the world’s major cities at 10.35 am, with a US air quality index reading of 581, reported Reuters. The reading was double that of Lahore, which was at 285.
Kuwait City was at 284, Kolkata between 181 and 196, Birmingham 156.
India’s Central Pollution Control Board put Delhi’s air quality index at 363 at 10 am, which is in ‘very poor’ category.
Air quality in Delhi on Friday was at the worst pre-Diwali level in eight years, local media said citing official data.
QAir’s reading is based on concentrations of air pollutants, and can’t be directly compared to India’s official index which uses a different scale and methodology.
Pollution is an annual hazard faced by many parts of northern India from the beginning of winter as cold, heavy air traps vehicle emissions, construction dust and smoke from crop-waste burning.
Diwali, the festival of lights, is marked by widespread use of firecrackers that further worsen air quality.
Schools in Delhi and NCR have been advised to switch to online more, and people have been encouraged to work from home ahead of Diwali on Sunday.