Linfen City - World's most polluted city

According to CNN, the World Bank recently examined 20 of the most severely polluted cities in the world. Sixteen of these cities are located in China, and Linfen City, in Shanxi Province, was cited as the world's most polluted city. It has also been chosen as one of the world's ten dirtiest cities by the Popular Science website and not surprisingly, listed as one the world's dirtiest cities.

Apple Daily reported that factories in Linfen continuously release waste gas and sewage. The whole city smells and is covered in smoke. The trees around the factories are all withered. The polluted water is like thick oil, and the polluted rivers have caused a higher incidence of cancer among citizens living in the area.

The problem of air pollution in China's cities remains serious. In 2005, 39.7 percent of the 522 cities surveyed were either moderately or seriously polluted.

Last year, environmental disputes and large-scale protests increased 30 percent compared to the previous year. Over 50,000 incidents were documented. Among these cases, 50.6 percent were about water pollution, and nearly 40 percent were related to air pollution.

Quick facts about Linfen City, China

People affected: 3,000,000
Type of Pollutant: Coal and particulates
Source: Automobile and industrial emissions

This soot-blackened city in China's inland Shanxi province makes Dickensian London look as pristine as a nature park. This city is in the heart of Shanxi, China’s coal-production hub, and has frequently been deemed the most polluted city in the world; citizens suffer from choking clouds of coal dust as well as drinking water polluted with arsenic. But Linfen is not the only city in the country with environmental woes—the World Bank estimates that 16 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are found in China’s industrial areas.

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