Jodhpur, Jaipur most polluted cities in state, says WHO report

Jodhpur and Jaipur are the top polluted cities in Rajasthan. In a report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), both the cities figured in the list of more than 4,300 most polluted cities of 108 countries in the world. The report includes five cities from the state. The report has been made on the basis of the global urban air pollution database that measured the levels of fine particulate matter PM 10 and PM 2.5 which means particles smaller than 10 or 2.5 micrometres, respectively in different cities of the world.

As per the report, Jodhpur recorded level of PM10 and PM2.5 measured at 189 and 101 respectively, the highest in the state, followed by Jaipur where level of PM10 and PM2.5 measured at 187 and 100 respectively. Both the cities stand at number 45 and 48 in the most polluted cities chart. The international standards of air pollution says that index value of 0-50 (micrograms per cubic metre air) is excellent, 51-100 is good, 101-150 is lightly polluted.

Three other cities of the state picked by WHO for pollution measurement were Kota, Alwar Udaipur and Alwar which stand at number 75, 76 and 83 in the list. “The reason behind the increasing pollution in smaller cities like Jodhpur or Alwar is double trouble caused by increasing number of vehicles coupled with dust which is already existing in these cities,”said Vivek Chattopadhyaya, Senior Programme Manager (Air Pollution Control) at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). “Laxity in compliance of environment norms in industries at these cities are making the problem severe,” he added.

The WHO report is based on the data released by the governments during different years.