14 Indian cities including Delhi in the list of 20 most-polluted cities in the world
AMN
The World Health Organisation (WHO) today called upon member countries in the South-East Asia region to aggressively address the issue of pollution.
WHO said, pollution accounts for 34 per cent of the seven million premature deaths caused by household and ambient air pollution together globally every year.
This comes in the wake of a report of the global health body which puts Delhi and 13 other Indian cities in the list of 20 most-polluted cities in the world in terms of PM2.5 levels in 2016.
Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia Poonam Khetrapal Singh said, air pollution contributes significantly to non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and lung cancer.
She stressed on the need for investment in effective urban planning with energy-efficient housing and power generation, building safe and affordable public transport systems and improving the industry and municipal waste management.