Air Quality Monitoring Reveals Widespread Pollution in Multiple Countries

Air quality monitoring indicates that several countries are experiencing significant air pollution issues. Data collected by the IQAir platform shows that over 1.5 million people are affected by air pollution annually. Chad, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Congo, and India are reported to have the worst air quality in 2023. Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Estonia, Grenada, Iceland and New Zealand are the only countries that meet the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for annual average PM2.5 concentrations. The analysis indicates that 13 out of 20 cities with the worst annual average PM2.5 levels are located in India. Bhiwadi, an industrial city northeast of India, is identified as the most polluted city. New Delhi remains the most polluted capital in the world. Findings also suggest that a considerable portion of the world lacks access to real-time air quality data. Africa, for instance, with a population of approximately 1.4 billion, only has just over 100 air quality monitoring stations.