When most people are asked about the most polluted cities in the world, they would probably name somewhere in China, or perhaps India. However, the truth is that Nigeria is actually one of the fastest expanding countries in the world, and is going all in on industry. What this means is often massive pollution, and for the city of Onitsha, things are about as bad as bad can get. The city of Onitsha has literally, by far, the worst air quality in the entire world. Dust particles both fine and large are simply everywhere and practically unavoidable. The sanitation efforts in the city are practically nonexistent, and piles of garbage are all over the place.

The main reason for the pollution is that Onitsha, like many areas in Nigeria, is rapidly expanding in terms of industry. This city in particular is doing some of almost every industry you can imagine. If you combine that with poor government controls, you have a city where air quality has gone completely off, and is probably going to be bad for many generations to come. However, the people who live there don’t seem to care. Perhaps they have simply grown up adjusting to it and do not know anything else, but when interviewed by The Guardian, most citizens living in Onitsha didn’t see it as a problem at all. However, while they may not think it is a problem, or at least not one they notice daily, there is more than enough reason to believe that it’s causing a great many premature deaths. It is interesting though, how much human beings can adjust to. For those who have always lived there, they would be surprised to hear it is the city with the worst air quality in the world.


https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/feb/13/polluted-onitsha-nigeria-perpetual-dust-city-world-worst-air

http://www.toptenz.net/10-horrifying-cities-live.php

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