India is the world's worst air polluter

And it's going to get worse: the annual quantity of coal burned is expected to triple in the next 15 years.

Just one of several articles on the web about this subject:

India may be lagging behind China on several economic indicators but when it comes to environmental degradation, the country has definitely outsmarted its giant neighbour.

Of the world’s top 20 polluted cities, 13 are in India compared to just three in China [the list below gives 14 in India, none in China]. Air pollution slashes life expectancy by 3.2 years for the 660 million Indians who live in cities, including Delhi. In China, the corresponding dip is marginally lower at three years.

non-Indian cites:  Karachi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi (Pakistan), Doha (Qatar), Khorramabad (Iran), Igdir (Turkey)

The Ganga and Yamuna are ranked among the world’s 10 most polluted rivers. China has just one. An evaluation in February ranked Vapi in Gujarat and Sukinda in Odisha among the 10 most environmentally-degraded zones in the world. China had no entries on the list.

The two nations have seen furious economic growth in the past decade fuelling a rapid rise in pollution. China leads the world in carbon emissions and India is in third position. But one important difference between the two emerging economies lies in China’s ability to manage the impact of breakneck economic growth on its environment much better than India. The effect of China’s success is most visible in its air and water, both of which have a direct bearing on public health.

Read the rest

Another article which compares India, China, Europe and America (the USA rates a lot better than Europe).