Only seven countries meet international air quality standards set by the World Health Organization. This is clear from a report published on Tuesday Search by IQAir, a Swiss air purification company that also conducts research on air quality around the world. The company collected data from more than 30,000 measuring stations around the world in 2023. The countries of Australia, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Mauritius, New Zealand, and the Caribbean island of Grenada have the cleanest air.
A total of 134 countries and territories were surveyed, most of which did not meet WHO guidelines on small particles in the air. These polluted dust particles come, for example, from agriculture, traffic or industry. Bangladesh seems to have the most polluted air. This is followed by Pakistan, India, Tajikistan and Burkina Faso. The Indian city of Begusarai is the most polluted city.
Air pollution is not only bad for the climate, it is also very dangerous for humans. It is estimated that about seven million people die every year due to polluted air. Nowadays, the quality is also deteriorating due to toxic smoke from forest fires, for example. For example, air quality in Canada deteriorated dramatically after severe wildfires broke out there last year. While the country previously had one of the least polluted air in the world. In addition, emissions from industry have increased significantly since the economy returned to full speed after declining during the coronavirus pandemic. For example, China, a country notorious for its metropolitan smog pollution, has been on its way to improving air quality. However, this situation deteriorated again after the Corona pandemic.
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The Netherlands is also among the 134 countries surveyed, but is not in the top twenty cleanest countries. At 106th place (the higher the number on the list, the cleaner the air), the Netherlands ranked between Ukraine, Germany and the United States. In the Netherlands, Groningen seems to have the least polluted air and Waalwijk the most polluted.
IQAir calculated air quality by measuring the so-called PM2.5 fraction of particulate matter. This is one of the air pollution indicators for which the World Health Organization has set an upper limit. The World Health Organization recommends that a cubic meter of air contain no more than 5 micrograms of PM2.5 on average in a year. In Bangladesh, a country where measuring points often exceed the standard, a cubic meter contains fourteen times more particles than the specified standard.
Correction (March 19, 2024): An earlier version of this article stated that Pakistan is the most polluted country. This has been modified above.
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