The World Health Organization has come up with a new report on air qualities in cities across the world. The new Urban Air Quality database has presented a stark reality of the world as majority of the cities failed to meet the WHO's guidelines safe levels.

The report is based on 1,600 cities across 91 countries. Around 50% of the reporting cities were found to be exposed to air pollution that is at least 2.5 times higher than the World Health Organization Air Quality Guideline levels.
Dr. Flavia Bustreo, WHO assistant director-general for family, children and women's health said, "Not surprisingly, this air is dangerous to breathe. So a growing number of cities and communities worldwide are striving to better meet the needs of their residents - in particular children and the elderly".

In comparison to 2011 database, 500 more cities are now part of the database indicating that more cities are monitoring outdoor air quality due to increased awareness of pollution's health risks.

The recent data covers the time period from 2008 to 2013 along with majority of values for the years 2011 and 2012. There are many cities whose data can be compared with previous years and it gets revealed that air quality is getting worse.

The most polluted cities include Delhi (India); Dakar (Senegal); Mexico City; Karachi (Pakistan); Seoul, South Korea and Mongolia among others. There are ample of reasons contributing to the rise like dependence on fossil fuels to generate electricity, reliance on private motor vehicles, inefficient use of energy buildings and the use of biomass for cooking and heating.

The WHO database indicated that some cities are making improvements like some have banned the use of coal for heating building, using renewable fuels for electricity production and improving efficiency of vehicle engines.

Poor air quality will prove taxing for health. Therefore, the WHO wants greater awareness of the health risks caused by air pollution.