Air Quality
In 2023, Pakistan maintained its position as one of the world’s top three smoggiest countries, alongside Bangladesh and India, according to data released on Tuesday.
Particulate matter (PM2.5), harmful airborne particles known for damaging the lungs, reached alarming levels, exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended limit by about 15 times.
Bangladesh recorded an average PM2.5 concentration of 79.9 micrograms per cubic meter, while Pakistan reported 73.7 micrograms, both far surpassing the WHO’s guideline of 5 micrograms.
Christi Chester Schroeder, air quality science manager at IQAir, attributed this concerning trend to climate conditions and geography in South Asia, which contribute to the stagnation of pollution.
Factors such as agricultural practices, industrial activities, and population density exacerbate the situation, suggesting that the situation may worsen before any improvement is seen.
In 2022, Bangladesh ranked fifth in terms of air quality, while India stood at eighth place. In India, pollution levels surged in 2023, with PM2.5 levels exceeding the WHO standard by 11 times. New Delhi, the capital city of India, emerged as the worst-performing capital globally, recording a PM2.5 level of 92.7 micrograms.
China also experienced a rise in PM2.5 levels, marking a 6.3% increase to 32.5 micrograms in 2023, following five consecutive years of decline.
Among the countries that met WHO standards for air quality were Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius, and New Zealand.
The IQAir report, compiled from data collected by over 30,000 monitoring stations across 134 countries and regions, excluded Chad, the world’s most polluted country in 2022, due to data discrepancies. Iran and Sudan were also removed from the 2023 list.
Christa Hasenkopf, director of the Air Quality Life Index at the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute, emphasized the need for improved global efforts to address air quality monitoring gaps, particularly in regions with significant health burdens associated with air pollution.
She highlighted the lack of public air quality monitoring in 39% of countries and emphasized the potential benefits of closing these data gaps at relatively low costs.
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