The World's Most Polluted Place Is...

Residential areas now exist cheek by jowl with smokestacks, while convoys of heavy trucks rumble through narrow roads day and night, throwing up clouds of dust.

For years, the air in Byrnihat has carried a familiar heaviness. A sharp, metallic smell lingers through the day, dust settles thick on rooftops and shop counters, and breathing deeply often comes with a cough.

What residents have lived with quietly has now been confirmed by global and national assessments: Byrnihat is no longer just among India's most polluted places -- it has emerged as the most polluted in the world.

In 2023, and again last year, studies placed Byrnihat at the top of India's pollution charts. In 2024, international rankings pushed it even further, placing the small industrial town ahead of cities long infamous for toxic air, including Lahore, Hotan, and New Delhi.

The finding shocked many outside the region, but for those living here, it only confirmed what their lungs had been telling them for years.

Byrnihat sits along a fast-growing industrial corridor on the Assam-Meghalaya border. Over time, factories producing steel, cement, ferro alloys, and bricks have mushroomed around what was once a semi-rural settlement.

Residential areas now exist cheek by jowl with smokestacks, while convoys of heavy trucks rumble through narrow roads day and night, throwing up clouds of dust.

Unlike cities where pollution spikes during certain seasons, Byrnihat's problem is relentless. The air rarely clears. Fine particulate matter -- especially PM2.5, the most harmful pollutant -- hangs constantly in the atmosphere, penetrating deep into the lungs and bloodstream.

Doctors say prolonged exposure of this kind sharply raises the risk of asthma, heart disease, and premature death.

Breathing Becomes a Daily Struggle

Residents describe a daily struggle. Clothes left out to dry gather soot. Children complain of burning eyes and sore throats.

Elderly people avoid stepping outdoors except when necessary. Many say respiratory illness has become so common that it is now considered normal.

"People here don't ask why someone is coughing anymore," a local resident remarked. "They only ask how long it's been."

Officials familiar with air-quality monitoring say Byrnihat's crisis is driven largely by industrial emissions and poor regulation.

Pollution-control equipment is either inadequate or poorly maintained in many units, while enforcement remains patchy.

Being a town bordering Assam has added to the problem, with overlapping jurisdictions often slowing action and diluting accountability.

Environmental officials acknowledge that warnings have been issued repeatedly, but implementation has lagged behind.

The penalties imposed on polluting units are often too small to act as a deterrent, and monitoring infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with the speed of industrial expansion.

Breathing Related-Complaints For Some Years

Health workers in nearby clinics report a noticeable rise in breathing-related complaints over the past few years.

What worries them most is the changing profile of patients. Younger adults and even children are showing symptoms once associated with long-term exposure in older age groups.

"This is what sustained pollution does," one health worker said.

"It silently lowers the baseline of public health."

Experts say Byrnihat's story is not just about one town. It is a warning for dozens of smaller industrial hubs across India that remain outside the spotlight.

While major metros attract attention and policy responses, places like Byrnihat often grow unchecked until conditions become extreme.

There are now discussions around stricter emission checks, better coordination between state authorities, and tighter monitoring of industrial activity.

But residents remain sceptical. They have heard promises before, often after disasters or alarming reports, only to see little change on the ground.

As Byrnihat carries the grim label of the world's most polluted place, it stands as a stark example of what happens when industrial growth races ahead of environmental safeguards.

For those breathing its toxic air every day, the crisis is not about rankings or reports -- it is about survival, one breath at a time.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff