Air pollution levels rose 8 per cent on average in the world's urban areas during the past few years, the World Health Organisation says.
Eighty per cent of the people in cities that monitor air quality around the world breathe pollutants that exceed WHO levels, the UN health agency added.
"Urban air pollution continues to rise at an alarming rate, wreaking havoc on human health," said Maria Neira, who leads WHO's department of public and environmental health.
Falling air quality increases the risk of strokes, heart diseases, lung cancer and chronic respiratory problems.
The WHO compiled data from 3000 cities in 103 countries for the report released on Thursday in Geneva.
Between 2008 and 2013, urban air became cleaner only in North America, Europe and in wealthy Asian countries.
All other world regions registered a worsening trend.
The most polluted air was recorded in Arab and Western Asian cities, as well as in South-east Asia.
The amount of small particles in the air often exceeds WHO's recommended levels by 5-10 times in these regions.
Among megacities, Delhi has the dirtiest air, followed by Cairo, Dhaka, Kolkata, Mumbai, Beijing, Shanghai, Istanbul, Mexico City and Sao Paulo.
"It is crucial for city and national governments to make urban air quality a health and development priority," said Carlos Dora, a WHO environmental health expert.
"When air quality improves, health costs from air pollution-related diseases shrink, worker productivity expands and life expectancy grows," he said.
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