Hyderabad fourth most polluted city in India, says World Air Quality report
Hyderabad is ranked fourth after Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. (File photo/AFP)
Telangana's capital, Hyderabad, was found to be the fourth-worst polluted city in India, seeing a concerning rise in particulate matter (PM 2.5) levels from 34.7 ug/m3 in 2020 to 39.4 ug/m3 in 2021, according to the World Air Quality Report 2021 by IQAir.

Hyderabad was ranked fourth after Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. The report has analysed 6,475 cities in 117 countries.

While not mentioning specifically what has led to the rise in particulate pollution in Hyderabad, the report suggests India’s rising vehicular pollution is the culprit.

“It is estimated that 20% to 35% of total urban PM2.5 concentrations is directly or indirectly due to internal combustion engines in motor vehicles. Annual vehicle sales in India are expected to increase, with an estimated fleet number reaching 10.5 million in 2030,” the report notes.

Though the average PM 2.5 during 2021 was 39.4 g/m3, it touched as high as 68.4 g/m3 during December. July was relatively better with PM 2.5 hovering in the 12 g/m3 range. However, even the lowest of 12 g/m3 is twice the value of 5 g/m3 — the permissible limit set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

While the city did record a declining trend in PM 2.5 between 2017 and 2020, perhaps due to green drive and strict automobile emission norms, it began to rise in 2021.

Small particles (PM 2.5) pose the greatest risk to human health. While the nose can filter most coarse particles, fine and ultrafine particles are inhaled deeper into the lungs where they can be deposited or even pass into the bloodstream," the report warned