10. Accra, Ghana: 51.9 | The capital city of Ghana recorded alarmingly high levels of PM 2.5 pollution in 2019. As per the report, windblown dust, and activities such as traffic, and e-waste burning contribute to the poor air quality in the city.

9. Beijing, China: 55 | Beijing, China was the only city to feature in both lists of cities with the highest PM 2.5 and NO2 pollution, ranking 9thand 1st respectively. However, in terms of PM 2.5 pollution, Beijing recorded a 36 percent drop in the city’s annual average levels in just five years. However, Beijing ranked high on the list of cities with the highest PM2.5-related disease burden with 124 deaths/100,000 deaths attributable to air pollution.

8. Karachi, Pakistan: 63.6 | The Pakistani city recorded high levels of PM 2.5 pollution in 2019 and with 63.6 µg/m3 of PM 2.5 in the air, it ranked 8th on the list of most polluted cities.

7. Lagos, Nigeria: 66.9 | One of the major financial centres of Africa, Lagos continues to see high levels of air pollution every year. With 66.9 µg/m3 of PM 2.5 in the air, Lagos ranks seventh on the list of most polluted cities.

6. Jakarta, Indonesia: 67.3 | The capital of Indonesia recorded alarmingly high levels of 2.5PM pollution. It also ranked high on the list of cities with the highest PM2.5-related disease burden in 2019 with 106/1000 deaths attributable to air pollution.

5. Dhaka, Bangladesh: 71.4 | The capital city of Dhaka, Bangladesh also recorded high levels of PM 2.5 pollution in 2019. It ranked 15 among the most populous cities with the highest PM2.5-related disease burden in 2019 with 86/1000 deaths attributable to air pollution.

4. Lima, Peru: 73.2 | The capital city of Lima recorded one of the highest levels of PM 2.5 pollution. It also ranked 13 on the list of most polluted cities in terms of exposure to NO2.

3. Kano, Nigeria: 83.6 | Kano, the capital of Kano State, one of Nigeria’s northern states, is the most polluted city in Africa. Air pollution remains a leading risk factor for premature deaths, 58 deaths per 100,000, in Nigeria.

2. Kolkata, India: 84.0 | Air pollution in Kolkata is often at par with Delhi, the most polluted metropolitan city in the country. In terms of absolute numbers, the study attributed 99/100,000 deaths in Kolkata ranking 8th in the list of most populous cities with the highest PM2.5-related disease burden in 2019.

1. Delhi, India: 110 | The figure for Delhi is well above the global median of PM2.5 attributable death rates in cities in 2019 106 per 1,00,000 people. However, Delhi fared better in NO2 levels as the annual average NO2 concentration in Delhi fell from 33.4 µg/m3 in 2011 to 25.6 µg/m3 in 2019.