Three Indian Cities Among the Ten Most Polluted Cities in the World

Two Indian cities joined New Delhi today, making the three cities part of the list of the ten most polluted cities in the world due to high levels of smoke in the air following the celebrations of the Diwali festival, an annual Hindu festival of lights. As usual, New Delhi ranked first as the most polluted city in the world, with an air quality index of 407, placing it in the "hazardous" category according to the Swiss group "IQAir." Mumbai, the financial capital of India, came in sixth with an air quality index of 157, while Kolkata in the east ranked seventh with an index of 154. Air quality index levels between 400 and 500 negatively affect healthy individuals and pose a danger to patients, while levels between 150 and 200 cause discomfort for those with asthma, lung, and heart conditions. A level from 0 to 50 is considered good. A thick layer of smog has spread in New Delhi since last night, raising the air quality index to an alarming level of 680 after midnight. Authorities ban fireworks every year in the capital, but this ban seems to be rarely enforced.