'No country' met WHO air quality standards last year
While some countries have made notable efforts to reduce air pollution, the World Health Organization has said that air quality is getting significantly worse around the world.
The WHO says that even low concentrations of small and hazardous airborne particles have caused significant health risks.
Not a single country has managed to meet the World Health Organization's (WHO) air quality standard in 2021, a survey of pollution data in 6,475 cities has showed, and smog even rebounded in some regions after a Covid-related dip.
The WHO recommends that average annual readings of small and hazardous airborne particles known as PM2.5 should be no more than 5 micrograms per cubic metre after changing its guidelines last year, saying that even low concentrations caused significant health risks.
But only 3.4 percent of the surveyed cities met the standard in 2021, according to data compiled by IQAir, a Swiss pollution technology company that monitors air quality. As many as 93 cities saw PM2.5 levels at 10 times the recommended level.
"There are a lot of countries that are making big strides in reduction," said Christi Schroeder, air quality science manager with IQAir. "China started with some very big numbers and they are continuing to decrease over time. But there are also places in the world where it is getting significantly worse."
READ MORE: The small window to act on climate change is closing – IPCC
Country rankings
India's overall pollution levels worsened in 2021 and New Delhi remained the world's most polluted capital, according to the data.
Bangladesh was the most polluted country, also unchanged from the previous year, while Chad ranked second after the African country's data was included for the first time.
China, which has been waging war on pollution since 2014, fell to 22nd in the PM2.5 rankings in 2021, down from 14th place a year earlier, with average readings improving slightly over the year to 32.6 micrograms, IQAir said.
Hotan in the northwestern Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region was China's worst performing city, with average PM2.5 readings of more than 100 micrograms, largely caused by sandstorms.
It fell to third on the list of the world's most polluted cities after being overtaken by Bhiwadi and Ghaziabad, both in India.
READ MORE: Air pollution in Europe still killing 300,000 a year: EU environment agency
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.