I visited what's possibly the world's most polluted city, and

REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Cairo, Egypt, is one of the world’s most polluted cities, if not No.1.
I recently visited and found that, even after just a day in the city, I could feel the effects on my breathing, sleep, and skin.
The experience reminded me of how lucky I, as an American, am to have the air quality in the country I live. I think most Americans have no conception of what it is like to live in a heavily polluted city like much of the world in Egypt, China, and India.
The Egyptian government is taking steps to improve air quality, with a plan to reduce air pollution by half by 2023.

I don’t think I understood what it was like to live in a truly polluted city until I went to one.

As an American, I’d never really experienced a place choked with smog. New York, my home, is the 21st most polluted city, according to a recent study by Eco Experts, which combines data on air quality, noise pollution, and light pollution. Los Angeles, which I’ve been to a few times, comes in 10th.

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