India's big cities are worst for air quality

India's two leading cities are at the bottom of an environmental ranking due out today that suggests water and air quality will become an ever bigger challenge for the development of Mumbai and New Delhi.

The report, undertaken by MasterCard but based on a compilation of scientific data, puts China's leading cities above their Indian counterparts, even though Hong Kong and Beijing in particular have come under intense criticism over air quality in the run-up to this year's Olympic Games.

"The fact that China is now under a constant magnifying glass does not mean we should ignore other places and some objective facts," said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, economic adviser to MasterCard and author of the report.

"India really has to move fast to prevent slipping down any further," he added.

Over the past five years China has invested about 15 times more than India in transport, sewerage and other infrastructure that contribute to improving living standards in urban centres, according to Mr Yuwa.

Additionally, India's democratic system and policymaking process make it harder to implement reform, while "China can clearly mobilise".

The study ranked 21 leading cities in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Melbourne led the ranking ahead of Johannesburg and Singapore. Among Chinese cities, the worst performer was Shenzhen, the industrial hub next to Hong Kong, which itself was the best-ranked Chinese city.

Mr Yuwa said the weighting given by MasterCard to different environmental problems was subjective and debatable.

But MasterCard used data from the World Health Organisation, other United Nations agencies and national agencies such as the US geological survey and Mercer, the consultancy. The study gave three water related issues - potability, availability and the sewage system - a combined weighting slightly above that of air quality.

However, on air quality alone, Mumbai and New Delhi also came equal bottom, below Jakarta, Cairo, Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

The study also takes into account natural phenomena and Johannesburg's high ranking in part reflects its favourable location in terms of limited vulnerability to natural disaster.

In contrast, Tokyo was ranked lower because of the risk of earthquake, typhoon and volcanic eruption. Sydney also ranked down the list because of the risk of rising sea levels, water scarcity and fires.

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