Rawalpindi and Peshawar have been named among the list of five most polluted cities in the world, according to the latest air quality report by the World Health Organization (WHO) released this month.
Peshawar is surveyed as the second worst city for third consecutive year, with an annual average particulate matter (PM) 2.5 measurement of 540 (2016), 540 (2014) and 219 (2011) respectively.
According to the WHO’s 2016 report, Onitsha, Nigeria has the dirtiest air with an annual average particulate matter 2.5 measurement of 594 followed by Peshawar, Pakistan (540), Zabol, Iran (527), Rawalpindi, Pakistan (448), Kaduna, Nigeria (423), Aba, Nigeria (373), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (368), Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia (359), Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan (334) and Gwalior, India (329).
The report says that as urban air quality declines, the risk of stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic and acute respiratory diseases, including asthma, increases.
According to the report more than 7 million premature deaths occur every year due to air pollution, 3 million of them due to outdoor air quality.
