The Indian government informed parliament on Thursday that global air quality rankings published by various organisations are not compiled by any official authority, and that the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) air quality guidelines are advisory in nature rather than legally binding, international media reported.
In response to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha about India’s standing in global indices such as IQAir’s World Air Quality Ranking, the WHO Global Air Quality Database, the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) metrics, the Ministry of Environment said that no official country-by-country pollution rankings are conducted anywhere in the world.
Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh said the WHO’s guidelines are meant to help countries set their own standards, taking into account geography, environmental conditions, background levels and national circumstances.
The minister also clarified that while no global authority ranks countries officially, it conducts its own annual Swachh Vayu Survekshan to assess and rank 130 cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) on the basis of air quality improvement measures.
Source: The News
