Madhav Panday – journalist

Kathmandu, November 4 – New Delhi has ranked as the most polluted city in the world. According to the air quality monitoring website IQAir, India’s capital, Delhi, has an air quality index (AQI) of 412 AQI Plus US.

Following Delhi, Lahore, Pakistan, ranks next. Due to the severe air pollution, the local administration in Lahore has implemented a lockdown, with schools closed for at least one week starting November 4. Lahore’s AQI is recorded at 220.

Similarly, Kolkata, India, ranks third, followed by Cairo, Egypt, in fourth, Dhaka, Bangladesh, in fifth, and Wuhan, China, in sixth place among the most polluted cities. Hanoi, Vietnam, is seventh, Dubai, UAE, eighth, Mumbai, India, ninth, and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, ranks tenth, with Kathmandu positioned eighteenth.

It is reported that the air pollution in Kathmandu has increased due to fireworks and smoke during the Tihar festival, with the city’s AQI reaching 113.