8 of every 10 cities breathe toxic air, 53% of Indians at risk: Greenpeace

People living in eight of every 10 Indian cities breathe toxic dust particles, PM 10, at levels exceeding national safety limits, according to a recent report.

National capital Delhi has the worst air in the country, said the report, Airpocalypse, released by Greenpeace India, an advocacy. At a time when India is already slipping to meet the renewable targets the budget 2018 overall allocations to the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has declined by 326 crore or 6% from last year’s Rs 5473 crore.

Of India’s 280 cities/towns where air quality is monitored, none met the World Health Organization’s (WHO) safe levels of PM 10–20 μg/m³–the report said.

The Indian annual safe level for PM 10–airborne particles seven times finer than a human hair that can sicken or kill people by entering their lungs–is three times more lenient at 60 μg/m³.