Polluted air
Air quality around the world is deteriorating due to economic recovery and the toxic effects of forest fire smoke. Out of 134 countries and regions, only seven meet international air quality standards.
Only seven countries in 2023 met World Health Organization standards for the content of the smallest particles in the air emitted by vehicles and industry (PM2.5). This is stated in the IQAir report.
The list of countries with the cleanest air includes Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand.
Countries with the most polluted air:
- < li>Bangladesh (79.9 µg/m3), which is more than 15 times higher than the WHO annual standard for PM2.5;
- Pakistan (73.7 µg/m3), more than 14 times higher than the norm ;
- India (54.4 µg/m3) – the level is ten times higher than the annual standard of WHO;
- Tajikistan (49.0 μg/m3) – the air is more than 9 times dirtier than normal;
- Burkina Faso (46.6 μg/m3) – 9 times higher than the annual PM2.5 norm.
Ukraine ranked 107th. The average amount of air pollution in 2023 was 8.6 micrograms per cubic meter, which is almost twice the norm. At the same time, before the full-scale invasion, the indicators were much worse. For example, in 2020, the figure was 19.2 micrograms per cubic meter.
Science is pretty clear about the effects of air pollution, but we are so used to background levels of pollution that are too high, to be healthy. We're not making adjustments fast enough, – said Glory Dolphin Hammes, CEO of IQAir North America.
The world's air is generally cleaner today than it was a century ago, but there are still places where pollution levels are particularly dangerous. According to WHO, air pollution is the cause of premature death of more than 4 million people worldwide every year.