Coimbatore: According to the new global urban ambient air pollution ranking released by WHO on Thursday, Chennai is the most polluted city in Tamil Nadu with a global ranking of 314. The state capital is followed by Trichy (370) and Coimbatore (410). The ranking was based on the levels of particulate matter (PM2.5) calculated after monitoring ambient air quality in 3,000 urban areas in 103 countries.
The survey was undertaken to highlight that air pollution was responsible for more than three million premature deaths worldwide every year.
Environmentalist K Mohanraj said the increase in particulate matter can be attributed to bad road conditions. "Vehicles move slower in comparison to previous years and the slow pace increase emissions," he said. Pending construction projects and reduced tree cover may also be a reason, he added.
Air quality monitors said the reason behind analyzing particulate matter in air was because it was tiny and the particles easily enter into the lungs. Several diseases such as respiratory ailments, heart problems, brain tumours and cancer are caused by it.
"Number of vehicles has increased and inhaling these particles causes chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. These kinds of diseases do not respond much to drugs," said Dr R Vani, pulmonologist and working in Coimbatore Medical College & Hospital.
