At a time when Delhi is battling increasing levels of air pollution, another state from the heartland of India has emerged which reportedly has the country’s most polluted cities.
A list produced by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), of Indian cities with their air quality index and its values, found that seven out of 10 cities, which recorded the highest air quality index value, are in Bihar.
A look at the list of most polluted cities:
1. Siwan (Bihar) – 398
2. Katihar (Bihar) – 369
3. Darbhanga (Bihar)- 360
4. Sonipat (Haryana) – 347
5. Samastipur (Bihar)- 337
6. Chhapra (Bihar)- 335
7. Bettiah (Bihar) – 326
8. Faridabad (Haryana)- 316
9. Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) – 315
10. Bhagalpur (Bihar) – 308
The data which is an average of air quality recorded in the past 24 hours and also mentions prominent pollutants of respective cities has taken into account 162 Indian cities to draw a conclusion.
This comes a week after Katihar in Bihar recorded the highest AQI (Air Quality Index) of 360 among 163 Indian cities on November 7, as per data released by the Central Pollution Control Board.
Apart from Katihar, three more cities in Bihar also remained on the list of the 15 worst cities in India namely Begusarai (AQI-355), Motihari (AQI-324), and Siwan (AQI-318).
Air quality at many places in Haryana and Punjab on Saturday evening was recorded in the ‘moderate’ and ‘poor’, categories. The air quality index in Haryana’s Jind was recorded at 293, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.
Among other areas in Haryana, Gurugram reported AQI at 288, followed by 274 in Faridabad, 234 in Bahadurgarh, 224 in Fatehabad, 219 in Sonipat, 175 in Manesar, 174 in Panipat, and 115 in Ambala.
On the other hand, the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) issued a notice to concerned authorities over negligence in reducing air pollution levels in forest and industrial areas of the state capital.
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