No official global pollution ranking exists, India relies on its own air quality standards: Government

The government told Parliament on Thursday that the global air quality rankings cited by various organizations are not conducted by any official authority and the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines serve only as advisory values, not as binding standards.

Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha on India’s position in global indices like IQAir’s World Air Quality Ranking, WHO Global Air Quality Database, Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and Global Burden of Disease (GBD) metrics, the Environment Ministry said no official country-wise pollution ranking is conducted across the world.

Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh said the WHO guidelines are meant to help countries set their own standards, taking into account geography, environmental conditions, background level and national circumstances.

He said India has already notified its National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 12 pollutants to protect public health and environmental quality.

The minister also clarified that while no global authority officially ranks countries, it conducts its annual Clean Air Survey to assess and rank 130 cities included under the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) based on air quality improvement measures.

Better performing cities are honored every year on National Clean Air Day on 7 September.