One of the very basic needs of human beings, or any living thing for that matter, is air. We need to breathe. We need to stay alive. We all know this, and yet we all take it for granted. Air pollution has been steadily and speedily growing in so many cities and so many countries all over the world. We have pollution from factories, pollution from cars, pollution from chemicals and pollution from so many other things.
The importance of clean and fresh air seems to be taken for granted by humanity, and more so as time goes on. We’ve become complacent. Air is there, it has always been there, and it always will be. But is that the truth? If we continue with the path we are taken in regard to air, we will soon have none. Imagine what happens then?
According to extensive studies and researches, more than half of the world’s population is living in places where the air is heavily polluted and millions of people are dying simply because of polluted air. Here, we will discuss the cities that you probably would like to avoid if you value your lungs.
Karachi, Pakistan
The country of Pakistan, with almost 200 million in population, has some of the most polluted air in their cities. Karachi is just one of them. Because Pakistan relies heavily on coal mining and fuel extraction, their air is really taking the grant form their livelihood. Karachi is actually up there as number 5 in terms of cities that are most heavily air polluted.
Visalia, California, United States
With a population of over 400 thousand people, Visalia ranks as one of the most polluted cities in the United States. This mostly caused by the poisonous gas that powered plants emit, as well as the smoke coming from vehicles. Burning of wood also causes smoke that is not healthy to breathe in. It doesn’t smell good, first of all, but it also harms your lungs.
Beijing, China
Beijing has actually put in multiple efforts to fix their pollution issues, but they are still ranking very high in the most polluted cities scale. The country of China itself is included in the list 100 most polluted countries.
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
The State of Arizona has actually been known for its fresh and clean air. A lot of people have chosen to move to this state specifically for that reason. The capital though, as well as some nearby cities, has the topography that makes it hard to maintain clean air. People in these cities are advised not to stay outdoors for long periods of time if they don’t want to get sick.
Delhi, India
In some scales, Delhi is actually said to be the most air polluted city of all. India, all in all, with more than a billion of people living there, has a very low life expectancy because of air pollution in their country. In the list of top 10 cities that are polluted, 6 of those are all located in India.
Khoramabad, Iran
Just like India and China, Iran also has a big population that is living in one of the most polluted air conditions in the world. They mostly produce vehicles and are big in the gas industry. This is the main cause for their heavily polluted air.
Santiago, Chile
Santiago is ranked very high as well in terms of air pollution, though not much of the other cities in Chile have made the list. They have a very high level of ozone found on the ground, which means the ozone layer in that area is very much damaged.
Kabul, Afghanistan
This may not be much of a surprise because of the war in Afghanistan. The bombs and bullets and explosions really do cause the air to be heavily polluted. It is the same for nearby cities as well. The city is also overpopulated which adds to the pollution.
If you want to read more about the negative effects of air pollution you can do so at: link