IQAir’s latest World Air Quality Report, now in its 6th year, sheds light on the pressing environmental challenge of air pollution, revealing extensive data on the world’s most polluted countries, territories, and regions in 2023. This year’s report encompasses an analysis of air quality measurements from over 30,000 monitoring stations across 7,812 locales in 134 countries, providing a global snapshot of particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution levels.
A concerning insight from the report is that only seven countries—Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius, and New Zealand—adhered to the WHO’s annual PM2.5 guideline, suggesting a widespread challenge in managing air quality. Conversely, countries like Burkina Faso, Tajikistan, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh recorded concentrations from 9 to 15 times higher than the WHO’s recommended PM2.5 values, highlighting critical areas of concern.
The report further underscores the geographical disparities in air quality monitoring and management, with Africa noted as the most underrepresented continent regarding air quality data. This data deficiency hampers effective action against pollution and underscores the necessity for enhanced monitoring and reporting mechanisms.
Notably, the analysis points to climate conditions and transboundary haze as exacerbating factors in Southeast Asia, where PM2.5 levels have notably increased. The persistence of high pollution levels in Central & South Asia also emphasizes the global nature of air quality challenges.
The findings also highlight the crucial role of low-cost air quality sensors, facilitated by citizen science initiatives, in bridging data gaps and expanding monitoring networks. These tools have become instrumental in providing real-time data, particularly in regions lacking governmental regulatory infrastructure. Backing this up, 70% of the data from Latin America and the Caribbean comes from low-cost sensors.
In response to these findings, Frank Hammes, Global CEO of IQAir, said, “A clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a universal human right. In many parts of the world the lack of air quality data delays decisive action and perpetuates unnecessary human suffering. Air quality data saves lives. Where air quality is reported, action is taken, and air quality improves.”
