The top slot as the dirtiest city in the world is taken by Baku in Azerbaijan, suffering life-threatening levels of air pollution emitted from oil drilling.
Mercer Human Resource Consulting ranked 215 cities worldwide on levels of air pollution, waste management, water potability, hospital services, medical supplies and the presence of infectious diseases.
All cities are positioned against New York, the base city with an index score of 100.
For the Health and Sanitation Rankings, the index scores range from the worst on the list-Baku, Azerbaijan, with a score of 27.6--to the best on the list-Calgary, Canada, with a score of 131.7.
Lead-poisoned air lands Dhaka, Bangladesh, the No. 2 spot (score 29.6) on the list. Traffic congestion in the capital continues to worsen with vehicles emitting fatal amounts of air pollutants daily, including lead.
Nos. 3 and 4 on this year’s list are the capital cities of Madagascar (30.1) and Haiti (34), respectively. Antananarivo, Madagascar and Port au Prince, Haiti, both face the challenge of a rapidly growing urban population and the ever-growing need for efficient water and waste management. Mexico City, Mexico, ranks No. 5 on this year’s list (37.7), followed by Adis Ababa (Ethiopia) (37.9), Mumbai (38.2), Baghdad (39), Almaty (39.1 and Brazzaville (39.1 Congo).
Irade Ibrahimova, press officer of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, dismissed the rankings, saying the ministry was not asked for any data while preparing the list.
“So, that is not in line with the reality,” she noted, adding that an investigation will be carried out.
/APA/
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