By Femi Akinola
Three African countries, Burkina Faso, Egypt, and Democratic Republic of Congo have been listed among the 10 most polluted countries of the world in 2023.
Burkina Faso occupies fifth position, Egypt was o the ninth position while DR Congo was on the tenth position.
Republic of Rwanda occupy the 15th position on the list, IQAir report has revealed.
Central and South Asia were the worst performing regions globally as regards unclean air. It is home to all four of the most polluted countries last year.
The countries are: Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Tajikstan, according to IQAir new report, disclosing that climate crisis play a pivotal role in bad air quality that is risking the health of billions of people worldwide.
According to the report by IQAir, which tracks air quality worldwide, the vast majority of the 100 worst polluted cities around the world, 83 were in India, and all exceeded the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) air quality guidelines by more than 10 times.
In 2023, the average air quality in Bangladesh exceeded WHO’s safety guidelines by nearly 16 times, making it the country with the worst air quality globally.
Pakistan and India followed closely behind, with India occupying third position of the 10 top spots for the most polluted cities.
The study, according to IQAir Global Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Frank Hammes, looked specifically at fine particular matter, or PM2.5, which is the tiniest pollutant but also the most dangerous.
He said only 9% of more than 7,800 cities analyzed globally recorded air quality that met WHO’s standard, which says average annual levels of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter.
”We see that in every part of our lives that air pollution hs an impact. And it is typically, in some of the most polluted countries, is likely shaving off anywhere between three to six years of people’s lives and then before tht will led to many years of suffering that are entirely preventable, if there’s better air quality.
”When inhaled, PM2.5 travels deep into the lung tissue where it can enter the blood stream, it comes from sources like the combustion of fossil fuels, dust stormms and wildfires. It has been linked to asthma, heart and lung diseases, as well as cognitive impairment in children,” so said Hammes.
According to the IQAir report on global air pollution, Begusarai, a city of half a million people in northern Indian’s Bihar State, was the world’s most polluted city last year with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 118.9: staning at 23 times higher than the WHO guidelines.
It was followed in IQAir rankings by the Indian cities of Guwahati, Assam, Delhi, Mullanpur and Punjab.
Across India, the report highlighted, 1.3 billion people , or 96% of the country’s population, live with air quality seven times higher than WHO’s guidelines, according to the report.
Hammes said no significant improvement in pollution levels in the region is likely without ”major changes in terms of energy infrastructure and agricultural practices.”
He continue saying, ” What’s lso worrisome in many parts of the world is that the things that are causing outdoor air pollution a re also sometimes the things that are causing indoor air pollution.”
According to the IQAir boss, cooking with dirty oil will create indoor exposure that could be many times higher than the air pollution one was seeing outdoors.