Amidst the rising perils of air pollution, there are 14 Uttar Pradesh districts that have found their place in the IQAir Report of Top-50 Most Polluted Cities in the world. Notably, the most polluted city of the state - Ghaziabad has been positioned at no.2 in the world rankings marking an average of 102 PM2.5 concentration. State capital Lucknow is also included in the list, at rank 16 on the global index, raising health alarms across.

35 Indian cities marked in 'hazardously' polluted category

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Swiss-based Tech Company, IQAir has released a world air quality report for 2021, based on ground AQI monitoring systems across 6,474 cities across 117 countries, regions and territories across the world. Reportedly, this index reviews the concentration of pollutant PM2.5, highlighting the world's Top-50 most dangerous cities to breathe in.

Unfortunately, around 35 cities of this index are from India, which have been listed in the 'hazardously' polluted category. According to the reports, the listed cities have ultra-fine particulate matter (PM)2.5 levels which are at least 10x over the standard limit prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

For reference, the approved 'good air quality' as per the PM2.5 concentration level should be between 0-5 g/m3, as per the guidelines of September 2021. UP's Ghaziabad, which is the second more polluted city in the world has recorded a concentration of 102 PM2.5, which is nearly 20 times the standard.

Besides, 13 other UP districts, including key-centres of Lucknow, Kanpur, Meerut, Agra, Amroha, Jaunpur, Varanasi, Noida and Greater Noida also feature on the list.

Caution Lucknow! City ranks at no.16

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State capital Lucknow has ranked at number 16 in the list of Top-50 Most Polluted Cities of the World, with the position going higher up at 16 in Asia, 11 in India and no.6 in the state. The city AQI as per real-time records balanced at 99 units on Wednesday, with a PM2.5 concentration that is nearly 7 times over the WHO limit.

While several reasons could be pinned on for the scaling of the overall pollutant rate, vehicular emissions, power generation, industrial waste, biomass combustion for cooking, the construction sector and events like crop burning have been listed as the key factors. People are cautioned to wear a mask to avoid pulmonary disorders. Those who are already suffering from respiratory problems are advised to stay indoors.