Meghalaya's Byrnihat Surpasses Delhi to Become the World's Most Polluted City in 2024

(Representative Image)

Nestled on the Assam-Meghalaya border, the industrial town of Byrnihat has recently grabbed global attention—but for all the wrong reasons. According to the World Air Quality Report 2024 by Swiss air monitoring company IQAir, Byrnihat is now the most polluted city in the world. With an alarming PM2.5 concentration of 128.2 μg/m³, it has surpassed even notorious pollution hotspots like Delhi and Lahore.

How Did Byrnihat Become the World's Most Polluted City?

Once a quiet border village, Byrnihat has rapidly evolved into a major industrial hub, home to cement factories, distilleries, iron and steel plants, and beverage production units. While this economic boom has created jobs, it has also led to unchecked pollution, turning Byrnihat into a toxic gas chamber.

Why Is Byrnihat’s Air So Polluted?

Several factors contribute to Byrnihat’s dangerously high pollution levels:

• Unregulated Industrial Emissions – Factories release massive amounts of PM2.5 pollutants with minimal oversight and weak environmental regulations.
• Heavy Traffic Pollution – As a major transport corridor between Assam and Meghalaya, Byrnihat suffers from constant vehicle emissions, further worsening air quality.
• Poor Urban Planning – Unlike metro cities with pollution-control measures (even if ineffective), Byrnihat’s industrial expansion has been completely unregulated.
• Trapped Pollution – The town’s geography prevents pollutants from dispersing, leaving a thick haze hanging over it.

Byrnihat may hold the top spot, but India still dominates the list of the world’s most polluted cities, with 13 out of the 20 most polluted cities globally in 2024.

Although the country saw a 7% drop in average PM2.5 levels—from 54.4 µg/m³ in 2023 to 50.6 µg/m³ in 2024—air pollution remains dangerously high, exceeding WHO’s safe limit by 10 times.

While India slipped from third to fifth place among the world’s most polluted countries, the air quality crisis remains severe.

Other Indian Cities Among the World’s Most Polluted

Delhi remains the most polluted capital city, but these Indian cities are also in the top 20:

Mullanpur
Faridabad
Loni
New Delhi
Gurugram
Ganganagar
Greater Noida
Bhiwadi
Muzaffarnagar
Hanumangarh
Noida

The Five Most Polluted Countries in 2024

Despite its alarming pollution levels, India is not the most polluted country. Here’s the top five list:

1. Chad – 91.8 μg/m³ (18 times higher than WHO’s safety guideline)
2. Bangladesh – 78.0 μg/m³
3. Pakistan – 73.7 μg/m³
4. Democratic Republic of the Congo – 58.2 μg/m³
5. India – 50.6 μg/m³

Can Byrnihat Escape Its Pollution Crisis?

Byrnihat’s toxic air isn’t just an environmental disaster—it’s a public health crisis. Long-term exposure to PM2.5 pollution poses severe health risks, including:

• Chronic respiratory diseases
• Increased risk of heart conditions
• Reduced life expectancy

What Needs to Be Done?

1. Stronger Industrial Regulations – The government must enforce strict pollution controls on factories and industrial plants.
2. Green Initiatives – Planting more trees, investing in carbon capture technology, and sustainable city planning can help mitigate pollution.
3. Cleaner Transport Policies – Expanding public transport, promoting electric vehicles, and curbing diesel emissions are crucial steps.4. Public Awareness & Citizen Action – People need to demand policy changes, push for clean energy solutions, and hold industries accountable.

Byrnihat’s plight serves as a stark warning—unchecked industrialization and weak regulations could push more cities into this crisis. Urgent action is needed to reverse the damage before more towns turn into toxic gas chambers.