30, Jan 2018 | CJP Team

According to a new Greenpeace India report, around 550 million people live in areas where annual PM10 levels exceeded national standards in 2016. PM10 is particulate matter with a diameter of ten microns or under, The Hindu reported. The report analysed air quality in 280 cities, and found that the majority of people living there–550 million of 630 million–lived with “poor air quality.” Moreover, 180 million people were in areas where the levels of PM10 were higher than twice the yearly limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre. Of the 550 million living with higher PM10 levels than desired, 47 million were children below five. The report noted that children were the most affected in Bihar, Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, which collectively had 12.9 million children under five living with PM10 levels that exceed twice the yearly limit. Delhi was found as being the most polluted, given its annual PM10 level of 290 micrograms per cubic metre. Bhiwadi and Faridabad in Haryana, Patna in Bihar, and Dehradun in Uttarakhand comprise the rest of the list of the top five most polluted cities. The population of the areas that were considered comprises 53% of the country’s population, while rest is in areas without air quality data.