“The 6th Annual World Air Quality Report reveals troubling details of the world’s most polluted countries, territories, and regions in 2023. For this year’s report, data from more than 30,000 air quality monitoring stations across 7,812 locations in 134 countries, territories, and regions were analysed by IQAir’s air quality scientists. Key findings from the 2023 World Air Quality Report:
- Seven countries met the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline (annual average of 5 µg/m3 or less): Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius, and New Zealand.
- The top five most polluted countries in 2023 were:
- Bangladesh (79.9 µg/m3) more than 15 times higher than the WHO PM2.5 annual guideline
- Pakistan (73.7 µg/m3) more than 14 times higher than the WHO PM2.5 annual guideline
- India (54.4 µg/m3) more than 10 times higher than the WHO PM2.5 annual guideline
- Tajikistan (49.0 µg/m3) more than 9 times higher than the WHO PM2.5 annual guideline
- Burkina Faso (46.6 µg/m3) more than 9 times higher than the WHO PM2.5 annual guideline
- A total of 124 (92.5%) out of 134 countries and regions exceeded the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline value of 5 µg/m3.
- Africa remains the most underrepresented continent, with a third of the population still lacking access to air quality data.
- Climate conditions and transboundary haze were major factors in Southeast Asia, where PM2.5 concentrations rose in nearly every country.
- The region of Central & South Asia was home to the top ten most polluted cities in the world.
- Begusarai, India was the most polluted metropolitan area of 2023. India was home to the four most polluted cities in the world.
- The most polluted major U.S. city was Columbus, Ohio. Beloit, Wisconsin was the most polluted city in the U.S.
- Las Vegas, Nevada was the cleanest major city in the U.S.
- For the first time in the history of this report, Canada was the most polluted country in Northern America, with the region’s 13 most polluted cities located within its borders.
- 70% of the real-time air quality data in the region of Latin America & Caribbean comes from low-cost sensors.
- To download the full report, CLICK HERE.
- Learn more about how you can become an air quality contributor, CLICK HERE.
