A new report has found that most of the world’s cities fail to meet air quality standards, with just 17% adhering to pollution guidelines. The study, released on Tuesday by Swiss-based air quality monitoring group IQAir, analyzed data from 40,000 monitoring stations in 138 countries. It identified Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India as having some of the worst air pollution levels globally.
India was particularly affected, with six of the world’s nine most polluted cities, including Byrnihat in the northeast, which recorded the highest pollution levels.
Health and Monitoring Challenges
Air pollution poses a serious health threat, contributing to respiratory diseases, Alzheimer’s, and cancer. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around seven million people die annually due to poor air quality.
Experts warn that the actual pollution levels could be even worse than reported, as many regions lack adequate monitoring. In Africa, for example, there is only one air quality monitoring station for every 3.7 million people. However, efforts are underway to improve tracking, with nearly 9,000 new monitoring sites added this year.
Despite these advancements, global air quality monitoring suffered a setback last week when the US State Department announced it would stop publicly sharing pollution data from its embassies and consulates worldwide.
Efforts to Improve Air Quality
Some cities have made significant progress in reducing air pollution through stricter regulations on vehicle emissions, power plants, and industrial pollution. Beijing, Seoul, and Poland’s Rybnik have all seen improvements by promoting cleaner energy and investing in public transportation.
Additionally, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has pledged to combat transboundary haze pollution caused by large-scale forest fires. While the agreement has had limited success, it represents a collaborative effort to tackle air quality issues.
Experts emphasize that air pollution and climate change are closely linked. Shweta Narayan of the Global Climate and Health Alliance noted that many of the most polluted areas are also major sources of greenhouse gas emissions from coal, oil, and gas burning. She stressed that reducing planet-warming emissions in industrialized nations would not only slow climate change but also lead to cleaner air.
“Air pollution and the climate crisis are two sides of the same coin,” she said.