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About the Report
- The World Air Quality Report is prepared by Swiss organization IQAir.
- The report is based on 5 air quality data from 6,475 cities in 117 countries, regions and territories around the world.
- IQAir endeavors to engage, educate, and inspire governments, researchers, NGOs, companies, and citizens to work together to improve air quality and create healthier communities and cities.
- No country met the latest WHO air quality guideline for PM2.5 in 2021.
- The WHO recommends that average annual readings of small and hazardous airborne particles known as 5 should be no more than 5 micrograms per cubic metre after changing its guidelines last year, saying that even low concentrations caused significant health risks.
- Only the territories ofNew Caledonia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico met updated WHO PM2.5 air quality guidelines.
- Only 222 out of 6,475 global citiescovered in the report met the updated WHO PM2.5 guideline.
- 93 cities in the report had annual PM2.5 concentrations exceeding 10 times the WHO PM2.5 guideline.
- China,which has been waging war on pollution since 2014, fell to 22nd in the PM2.5 rankings in 2021, down from 14th place a year earlier, with average readings improving slightly over the year to 32.6 micrograms.
- Hotan in the northwestern region of Xinjiang was China’s worst-performing city, with average PM2.5 readings of more than 100 micrograms, largely caused by sandstorms.
- Central and South Asia had some of the world’s worst air quality in 2021 and was home to 46 of the world’s 50 most polluted cities.
- Bangladesh
- Chad
- Pakistan
- Tajikistan
- India
- New Delhi (India) is the world’s most polluted capital cityfor the fourth consecutive year followed by Dhaka (Bangladesh), N’Djamena (Chad), Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Muscat (Oman).
- The report added that 35 of the 50 cities with the worst air quality were in India with Rajasthan’s Bhiwadi topping the listfollowed closely by Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad.
- None of the cities in India met the prescribed World Health Organization (WHO) air quality standards of 5 micrograms per cubic meter.
- India’s annual average 5 levels reached 58.1 μg/m3 in 2021, ending a three-year trend of improving air quality