Byrnihat, a small industrial town on the Assam-Meghalaya border, recorded the world’s worst air pollution in 2024, with PM2.5 levels more than 25 times higher than global safety limits.
Shakeel Sobhan reports for Deutsche Welle.
In short:
- Byrnihat’s air averaged 128.2 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter in 2024, with 356 out of 359 monitored days exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended limit of 5 micrograms.
- Industrial emissions from iron, steel, cement, and ferroalloy plants, along with coal transport, aging trucks, and open waste burning, drive the town’s pollution.
- Despite factory shutdowns in January 2025, PM2.5 levels spiked days later, highlighting deeper systemic issues, including geography, low rainfall, and weak enforcement.
Key quote:
“Byrnihat's bowl-shaped topography also traps pollution. The city is surrounded by hills on nearly all sides, and its topography does not allow pollutants to easily disperse.”
— Armen Araradian, IQAir
Why this matters:
Most attention on India’s air quality centers on megacities like Delhi, but smaller towns like Byrnihat are suffering quietly under the weight of industrial pollution. These areas often lack regulatory oversight, air quality monitoring, and the public attention needed to spur meaningful policy changes. Byrnihat’s extreme PM2.5 levels not only put residents at daily risk for respiratory illness and cancer, but also illustrate how unchecked development and weak environmental planning in emerging industrial corridors can turn rural regions into toxic zones.
Read more: Health insurers in India may raise premiums due to air pollution
