A megacity is one that has more than 10 million inhabitants. Taking this criterion into account, a study carried out by engineers from the University of Toronto (Canada) has analyzed the resource consumption of these large metropolises, concluding that New York is the one that consumes the most energy, even ahead of Tokyo .
According to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) , London and Paris use relatively fewer resources than New York and Tokyo conserve water very efficiently; the opposite is the case with Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, which waste 50% of the water that runs through their pipes.
Of the 27 largest metropolitan areas in the world that currently exist and are expected to make up 37 by 2020, only 6.7% of the world’s population lives in them. Despite this percentage, these urban areas consume 9.3% of electricity and produce 12.6% of the world’s waste .
“The metropolis of New York has 12 million fewer people than Tokyo, and yet it uses more energy: the equivalent of an oil supertanker every 1.5 days . When I saw it, I thought it was just incredible, ”explains Chris Kennedy, leader of the study that has analyzed the consumption and management of resources such as the burning of natural gas for heating, the disposal of solid waste and sewage or the use of electricity for public transport in these large cities.
Among the 27 largest cities in the world are: New York, London, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Moscow, Seoul, Paris, Mumbai, Buenos Aires, Lagos, Barcelona, Chicago, Madrid, Los Angeles, Beijing, Osaka , Tehran, Cairo or Istanbul.
