Baghdad Iraq and Bahrain ranked second and fourth, respectively, in the list of the world’s most polluted countries for the year 2022, according to a study prepared by the Swiss company IQ Air concerned with air purification issues.
The study included data from more than 30,000 air quality monitoring stations in more than 7,000 locations in 131 countries and territories, according to the study.
Chad recorded pollution at a rate of 89.7 micrograms per cubic meter, which is the highest pollution rate in the world, and 17 times more than the standard air purity recommendations set by the World Health Organization at 2.5 particles per cubic meter.
Iraq came second with 80.1 micrograms, Pakistan came third with 70.9 micrograms, Bahrain with 66.6 micrograms and Bangladesh with 65.8 micrograms.
The study shows that pollution rates in Iraq nearly doubled in one year, from 49.7 in 2021, and Bahrain also showed a significant increase from 49.8 in 2021.
In 2020, Iraq was tenth in the list of the highest polluted countries, with 39.6 micrograms, according to the World Population Review.
The population of Iraq is currently about 43 million people, and projections indicate that the population will continue to increase, exceeding 100 million people by the end of 2085, at a rate of 2.32% annually, adding just under a million people each year.
The country also suffers from severe desertification, lack of vegetation cover and water shortages, in addition to its increasing reliance on private generators to generate energy.
The Iraqi Ministry of Planning announced that there are about 49,000 generators for the private sector in the country.
These generators usually operate on diesel fuel, and each of them produces huge quantities of smoke into the atmosphere, in addition to the smoke of cars and the smoke of oil wells that burn huge amounts of gas every year.
Six countries met WHO guidelines: Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland and New Zealand.
The study says Central and South Asia was home to eight of the world’s ten cities with the worst air pollution
India’s Lahore is the most polluted metropolitan area in 2022, up from 15th in 2021.
Chile is also home to eight of the 15 most polluted cities.
California was home to 10 of the 15 most polluted cities in the United States, while Las Vegas was considered the cleanest major city in the United States.
“Many people around the world don’t know they are breathing polluted air,” said Aidan Farrow, an air quality scientist at Greenpeace. “When monitoring is incomplete or uneven, vulnerable communities can be left without data to work on.” / End
Source: National Iraqi News Agency