Survey: Lahore World's Most Polluted City, Chad Worst Among Countries

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    Image copyright: Reuters [via Al Jazeera]

    The Facts

    • The air quality of Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, worsened to 97.4 micrograms of PM2.5 particles per cubic meter in 2022, making it the most polluted city in the world according to a new report. It was followed by Hotan (China), Bhiwadi (India), Delhi (India), and Peshawar (Pakistan).

    • According to the 2022 World Air Quality Report published by IQAir on Tuesday, Chad in central Africa ranked as the country with the most polluted air — averaging PM2.5 levels of 89.7 – followed by Iraq, Pakistan, Bahrain, and Bangladesh.

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    The Spin

    Narrative A

    As the primary sources of air pollution are climate change-fueled wildfires and the burning of fossil fuels for transportation and energy production — which wreak havoc on the most vulnerable and marginalized communities across the globe — the countries with healthy air quality supply must share technical know-how with the nations suffering from higher levels of pollution to aid them in adopting greener, renewable forms of energy.

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    Narrative B

    More action is needed to clean the air in South Asia, but it would cost a prohibitive $2.6B to cut 1 microgram/cubic meter of PM 2.5. Thus, pollution levels must be brought within safe thresholds by grassroots community efforts. If residents are involved in air quality monitoring, a shift in awareness will create the transparency and urgency needed to spawn joint efforts to improve air quality. People must demand change and hold polluters to account if they are to breath clean air.

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