Mumbai: India ranked the fourth lowest out of 180 nations in terms of environment as per the Environmen-tal Performance Index (EPI), according to the latest report by Yale and Columbia universities. The report was published to coincide with the World Economic Forum gathering at Davos on Tuesday. While India stood at 177, down from 141 in 2016, its score for air quality was recorded at a mere 5.75 out of 100. The current state of the country’s air quality reveals that only seven cities come under the satisfactory annual average air quality, as per the latest report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Moderate annual air quality was recorded at 29 cities, while 13 cities recorded poor annual air quality.
“Despite government action, pollution from solid fuels, coal and crop residue burning, and emissions from motor vehicles continues to degrade the air quality for millions of Indians,” read the report. The report evaluated 24 indicators including air quality, water and sanitation, biodiversity and habitat, forests, climate and energy among others.
The CPCB officials maintained that the air quality in north India shows the worst pollution level but it could be attributed to the weather conditions. Experts have stated that there has been significant rise in the PM10 level over the years, which comes mostly from dust particles. When the levels are that high, meeting the standard level is the need of the hour,” said Anumita Roychowdhary, head of air pollution programme, Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi.
Meanwhile, D Saha, head of air quality laboratory, CPCB, said, “Although the AQI levels have decreased in certain cities, it is difficult to estimate whether or not more cities in the country now have satisfactory air quality. We have asked state governments to come up with their action plans to curb air pollution.”
