Kolkata Was the Most Polluted City in the World on 16 Jan

Koklata’s PM 2.5 count crossed the 300-mark on 12 days out of the first 15 days of 2018.

Kolkata was the most polluted city in the world on Tuesday as the pollution levels shot off the charts to reach a PM 2.5 count of 565 at 5am, the Times of India reported.

The stats were released by the US Embassy and Consulate that monitors emissions around the globe. Kolkata's 565 count was 9 times more than the permissible limit of 60, higher than any other city in the world including Delhi, which recorded less than half PM 2.5 emissions than the West Bengal Capital on Tuesday.

According to TOI, Environmentalists pointed out that construction fumes, emission from vehicles and other environmental factors could have been responsible for the surge.

Kolkata’s PM 2.5 count crossed the 300-mark on 12 days out of the first 15 days of 2018, breaking all the records on Tuesday as it crossed the 550-mark. This air quality is said to be worse than that on the day of Diwali.