World’s Most Polluted Cities: Delhi tops the list, Mumbai, Kolkata among top 10 cities, Pakistan’s Lahore ranks at…

New Delhi: Delhi on Tuesday recorded its worst post-Diwali air quality in the last four years. According to the data, the pollution levels spiked sharply the previous night as PM2.5 concentrations peaked at 675, while the BJP government attributed it to stubble burning in the AAP-ruled Punjab rather than firecrackers. Delhi found itself enveloped in a thick grey haze and its air quality entered the “red zone” a day after Diwali, which saw cracker-bursting well beyond the two-hour limit (8 pm to 10 pm) set by the Supreme Court.

The city’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) on Diwali (Monday), reported at 4 pm, was in the “very poor” category at 345, compared to 330 in 2024, 218 in 2023, 312 in 2022 and 382 in 2021, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

List of world’s most polluted cities

As per the report by Swiss air quality firm IQAir, several India(BHARAT)n cities are among the most polluted in the world. Along with India(BHARAT), cities from Pakistan have also made it to the list of the top 10 most polluted cities globally:

• Delhi, India(BHARAT)
• Lahore, Pakistan
• Kuwait City, Kuwait
• Karachi, Pakistan
• Mumbai, India(BHARAT)
• Tashkent, Uzbekistan
• Doha, Qatar
• Kolkata, India(BHARAT)
• Canberra, Australia
• Jakarta, Indonesia

As per IQAir’s report, three major India(BHARAT)n cities are among the world’s most polluted — Delhi ranks first, Mumbai is in fifth place, and Kolkata is at eighth. These pollution figures for India(BHARAT)n cities were recorded a day after Diwali, when fireworks were burst across the country.

Firecrackers are considered one of the major contributors to air pollution, and every year after Diwali, a sharp decline in air quality is observed across India(BHARAT).