WORLD FOCUS

Breathless in India, home to 9 of 10 most polluted cities in the world

Decades of putting economic growth and infrastructure building first have taken a toll on India's environment. The industrial city of Kanpur illustrates the ill effects of such a policy.

Above: Cooking in the slums of Jajmau in Kanpur is done on wood-fired stoves - a prime source of the city's air pollution. Left: Kanpur, home to three million people, has 1.7 million vehicles, contributing to the bad air. A train snaking its way thro
People sifting through garbage for recyclable materials at a dump in Ajmer in Rajasthan. Fires caused by biogas from refuse in India’s giant dumps are practically inextinguishable and so common that often no one bothers trying to put them out. These smouldering dumps add to the already dire state of India’s air quality. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A man rowing amid haze on the Sukhna lake in Chandigarh on June 15, when the PM2.5 level in the Indian city hit an alarming 572, according to the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee observatory. PHOTO: REUTERS
Above: Cooking in the slums of Jajmau in Kanpur is done on wood-fired stoves - a prime source of the city's air pollution. Left: Kanpur, home to three million people, has 1.7 million vehicles, contributing to the bad air. A train snaking its way thro
A train snaking its way through dust-shrouded Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of New Delhi. The Indian capital recently saw its most polluted summer in years, prompting emergency measures, including a halt to all construction activity for days. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Above: Cooking in the slums of Jajmau in Kanpur is done on wood-fired stoves - a prime source of the city's air pollution. Left: Kanpur, home to three million people, has 1.7 million vehicles, contributing to the bad air. A train snaking its way thro
Kanpur, home to three million people, has 1.7 million vehicles, contributing to the bad air. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Above: Cooking in the slums of Jajmau in Kanpur is done on wood-fired stoves - a prime source of the city's air pollution. Left: Kanpur, home to three million people, has 1.7 million vehicles, contributing to the bad air. A train snaking its way thro
Cooking in the slums of Jajmau in Kanpur is done on wood-fired stoves – a prime source of the city’s air pollution. PHOTO: COURTESY OF PRABHAS ROY
Above: Cooking in the slums of Jajmau in Kanpur is done on wood-fired stoves - a prime source of the city's air pollution. Left: Kanpur, home to three million people, has 1.7 million vehicles, contributing to the bad air. A train snaking its way thro
Patients young and old being treated for breathing problems at the Murari Lal Chest Hospital in Kanpur. Doctors in the Indian city say they are seeing a spike in chronic respiratory problems. PHOTOS: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
Above: Cooking in the slums of Jajmau in Kanpur is done on wood-fired stoves - a prime source of the city's air pollution. Left: Kanpur, home to three million people, has 1.7 million vehicles, contributing to the bad air. A train snaking its way thro
Patients young and old being treated for breathing problems at the Murari Lal Chest Hospital in Kanpur. Doctors in the Indian city say they are seeing a spike in chronic respiratory problems. PHOTOS: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
Above: Cooking in the slums of Jajmau in Kanpur is done on wood-fired stoves - a prime source of the city's air pollution. Left: Kanpur, home to three million people, has 1.7 million vehicles, contributing to the bad air. A train snaking its way thro
Patients young and old being treated for breathing problems at the Murari Lal Chest Hospital in Kanpur. Doctors in the Indian city say they are seeing a spike in chronic respiratory problems. PHOTOS: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
Above: Cooking in the slums of Jajmau in Kanpur is done on wood-fired stoves - a prime source of the city's air pollution. Left: Kanpur, home to three million people, has 1.7 million vehicles, contributing to the bad air. A train snaking its way thro
Patients young and old being treated for breathing problems at the Murari Lal Chest Hospital in Kanpur. Doctors in the
Indian city say they are seeing a spike in chronic respiratory problems. PHOTOS: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
Nirmala Ganapathy India Bureau Chief In Kanpur
Updated
Oct 25, 2018, 03:50 PM
Published
Jul 17, 2018, 05:00 AM
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WHO's ranking of the world's most polluted cities is based on 2016 levels of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 - pollutants measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter - about a 30th the diameter of a human hair and so small they can penetrate deep into the lungs, enter the bloodstream and move to other organs.

Kanpur's PM2.5 reading is 173 micrograms per cu m, nearly six times over the WHO's safe limit of 30 micrograms per cu m.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 17, 2018, with the headline Breathless in India, home to 9 of 10 most polluted cities in the world. Subscribe

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