It’s probably not healthy enough. Only six countries meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) new permissible levels of the lethal air particle, according to the sixth annual evaluation of PM 2.5 pollution in cities, nations, and regions throughout the world published by Swiss air quality measurement company IQAir.
According to Senior Air Quality Scientist at Greenpeace International Aidan Farrow, far too many people throughout the world are unaware that they are breathing dirty air. When monitoring is uneven or spotty, vulnerable communities may be left without data to act on. Air pollution monitors give real data that can motivate communities to demand change and hold polluters accountable. Everyone has a right to have air pollution protect their health.
Data from more than 30,000 air quality monitors in 7,323 cities and 131 nations, regions, and territories were used in the 2022 Global Air Quality Report. Based on mounting scientific evidence of the health hazards of this form of pollution, which is small enough to enter the bloodstream from the lungs and harm the heart and other organs, the WHO will drop the recommended limit of PM2.5 from 10 to five micrograms per cubic meter (g/m3) in 2021. According to estimates, exposure to air pollution results in seven million premature deaths annually.
The Nations with The Worst Particle Matter Air Pollution, According to Iq Air, Were:
- Chad, at 89.7 g/m3
- Iraq at 80.1 g/m3
- Pakistan at 70.9 g/m3
- Bahrain at 66.6 g/m3
- Bangladesh at 65.8 g/m3
In 2022, the Most Polluted Cities Were
- Lahore, Pakistan, at 97.4 g/m3
- Hotan, China, at 94.3 g/m3
- Bhiwadi, India, at 92.7 g/m3
- Delhi, India, at 92.6 g/m3
- Peshawar, Pakistan, at 91.8 g/m3
Eight of the top ten most polluted cities were located in Central or South Asia overall, while 118 countries and regions, or 90% of those with enough data, exceeded the WHO’s revised health standards.
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According to WHO recommendations, Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, and New Zealand were the six nations with healthy air. Seven territories from the Pacific and Caribbean joined them, according to CNN.
The information was released a week or so after another study revealed that more than 99 percent of people worldwide were breathing contaminated air. That study, however, included machine learning to close any gaps left by on-the-ground monitoring.
Since more than 90% of air pollution-related deaths occur in low- or middle-income nations, IQAir observed that monitoring gaps still exist, which is a significant environmental justice issue. For instance, even though monitoring in Africa rose from 2021 to 2022 by seven nations, just 19 of the continent’s 54 countries were still monitored. Moreover, only 156 sites on the continent produced readings.
This year, the spotlight on disparities in global air quality data coverage shines brightly on the continent of Africa, according to an executive summary from IQAir. The only real-time, publicly accessible source of data on air quality for the entire country of Chad is provided by a single air quality monitor in the city of N Djamena.
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The most polluted city in the United States was Coffeyville, Kansas, and the most polluted city overall was Columbus, Ohio. Yet, California was home to 10 of the top 15 most polluted cities in the US. According to CNN, air pollution in the United States decreased in 2022 compared to 2021, mostly as a result of less severe wildfires. Generally speaking, air pollution was either directly brought on by fossil fuels through energy and car emissions or indirectly produced by smoke from wildfires that were exacerbated by the climate crisis.
Glory Dolphin Hammes, CEO of IQAir North America, said on CNN that this is essentially about how we as a planet are maintaining this toxic relationship with fossil fuels. The majority of the air pollution we experience on our planet is still caused by fossil fuels, on which we continue to rely.
