In 2024, only seven nations passed the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality standards and there were high levels of smog reported around the world, new data released by Swiss air quality monitoring company IQAir indicates. Chad and Bangladesh were considered the most polluted nations with smog rates more than 15 times the WHO-recommended level. Other nations such as Australia, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Estonia and Iceland were the only nations to achieve air quality requirements.
The problem is compounded further by serious data gaps, especially in Asia and Africa where countries have depended on air quality monitors placed in U.S. embassy compounds. The U.S. recently halted this crucial tracking program on account of budget shortfalls. By doing so, it takes more than 17 years worth of air readings including Chad readings also which battled Sahara dust and agricultural fires.
India ranked fifth on pollution and noticed a marginally lower level in its PM2.5, though it contributed 12 of the top 20 most polluted cities. Byrnihat, located in India’s northeast, had an average PM2.5 of 128 mg/cu m. far higher than WHO’s prescribed safe limit.
Climate change is playing a crucial role in increased pollution with more intense and prolonged forest fires fueling it further. Officials say at least 34 countries will no longer have access to trustworthy pollution data with the shutdown of the American monitoring program, which threatens the fight against air pollution.
