Bangladesh, Pakistan and India have ‘world’s most polluted air’
▶ Report shows that 124 out of 134 countries exceed WHO guidelines for concentrations of particulate matter
Bangladesh, Pakistan and India have the worst air pollution in the world, with concentrations of particulate matter more than 10 times the recommended maximum, according to a report published yesterday.
The World Air Quality Report, released by Swiss air purifier company IQAir, found that 124 out of 134 countries analysed exceed World Health Organisation guidelines for particulate matter up to 2.5 microns in size (PM2.5). These tiny particles are regarded as some of the most dangerous air pollutants and are linked to deadly conditions such as lung cancer and heart disease.
The UAE has the seventh worst air pollution in the world, according to the report, while fewer than 10 per cent of the countries or regions for which data was collected have pollution levels that adhere to WHO guidelines.
Many Middle Eastern cities have high levels of PM2.5, including Baghdad and Cairo, which are the world’s fifth and 10th most polluted capitals.
The report also found that the most polluted cities in West Asia, a region that includes the Middle East, have seen their PM2.5 concentration fall. Aidan Farrow, a senior air quality scientist at Greenpeace International, yesterday described air pollution as “a global health catastrophe” that required action.
The report showed, he said, that air pollution often had “inequitable consequences” and there was a “need to implement the many solutions that exist to this problem”.
“Local, national and international effort is urgently needed to monitor air quality in under-resourced places, manage the causes of transboundary haze, and cut our reliance on combustion as an energy source,” he said.
Bangladesh, the most polluted country, has a PM2.5 concentration of 79.9 μg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre), more than 15 times the World Health Organisation’s recommended maximum of 5 μg/m3. In Pakistan and India, the concentrations are 73.7 μg/m3 and 54.4 μg/m3 respectively.
Human-made and natural factors mean that areas spanning these three countries have, the report says, “the worst air pollution conditions in the world”.
Brick kilns, the burning of agricultural waste, cremations and the use of solid fuel for cooking and heating contribute to the poor air quality. Road transport is another key source.
New Delhi is classed as the world’s most polluted capital, with a PM2.5 concentration of 92.7 μg/m3, followed by Dhaka, which has a concentration of 80.2 μg/m3. Islamabad is the world’s ninth-most polluted capital, with 42.4 μg/m3. Tajikistan in Central Asia is also highly polluted, with a PM2.5 concentration of 49.0 μg/m3, the fourth-highest in the world.
Other heavily polluted countries are, from fifth to 10th worldwide, Burkina Faso (46.6 μg/m3), Iraq (43.8 μg/m3), the UAE (43.0 μg/m3), Nepal (42.4 μg/m3), Egypt (also 42.4 μg/m3) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (40.8 μg/m3).
The UAE is not the only Gulf nation high on the list, with Kuwait in 11th place (39.9 μg/m3), Bahrain in 12th (39.2 μg/m3) and Qatar in 13th (37.6 μg/m3).
While the Middle East contains several of the world’s 20 most polluted capitals, including Baghdad (45.8 μg/m3), Kuwait City (39.9 μg/m3), Manama (39.2 μg/m3), Abu Dhabi (38.2 μg/m3) and Doha (37.6 μg/m3), the report said that pollution levels had fallen in West Asia’s nine most polluted cities.
“In 2023, there is only one city with an annual average above 50 μg/m3, whereas there were five such cities in 2022,” the report said.
Ras Al Khaimah is the most polluted city in West Asia, with a PM2.5 concentration of 52.0 μg/ m3, followed by Dhahran in Saudi Arabia (46.5 μg/m3), Baghdad, Dubai (43.6 μg/m3) and Kuwait City. The 10 least polluted cities in the region, all in Israel, are typically much smaller.
Other nations high on the list of the most polluted are Indonesia, in 14th place, Rwanda (15th), Zimbabwe (16th), Ghana (17th), Kyrgyzstan (18th), China (19th) and Libya (20th).
The report uses PM2.5 readings from 30,000 air quality monitoring stations at 7,812 sites in 134 nations or regions.
PM2.5 are considered some of the most hazardous particulate pollution because they penetrate deep into the lungs and, the US Environmental Protection Agency reports, may enter the bloodstream.
The report also includes data for Mexico (46th with 20.1 μg/m3), Palestine (55th with 18.6 μg/m3), Israel (56th with 17.8 μg/m3), the Philippines (79th with 13.5 μg/m3), the US (102nd with 9.1 μg/m3) and the UK (112th with 7.7 μg/m3).
Just 10 of the 134 countries or regions analysed have pollution levels below the WHO recommended maximum.
French Polynesia (3.2 μg/m3) is the least polluted, then Mauritius (3.5 μg/m3), Iceland (4.0 μg/m3), Grenada (4.1 μg/m3) and Bermuda (also 4.1 μg/m3).
Effort is needed to monitor air quality, manage the causes of transboundary haze, and cut reliance on combustion
AIDAN FARROW Greenpeace International