Mumbai was the most toxic city in the state and 71st most polluted in the world in 2018, according to new data released by IQAir AirVisual and Greenpeace. The state capital was more polluted than Beijing which used to be the world’s most polluted city some years back.

The report has analyzed eight cities of the state based on 2018 air quality data from public monitoring sources, including government as well as private monitoring networks. It measures the levels of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 – a deadly pollutant that can get into lungs and cause serious health problems.

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A recent study, carried out by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), had highlighted that people living in the most toxic cities of the state can hope to extend their lives by a year if the state government meets the pollution reduction targets.

According to independent clean air analyst Sunil Dahiya, the state needs to strengthen its ambient air quality monitoring network. “Data of many cities of Maharashtra is not available which is quite a worrying situation. We still don’t know the magnitude of air pollution problem in terms of PM2.5 monitoring,” he said.

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