Chad, Bangladesh, Pakistan ranked world’s most polluted countries in 2024
A new report has revealed that air pollution remains a serious problem in many countries, with Chad, Bangladesh, and Pakistan having the worst air quality in 2024.
The findings come from IQAir’s annual World Air Quality Report, which examined pollution levels in 138 countries using data from over 40,000 monitoring stations.
The report found that Chad had the highest pollution level, with its air containing more than 18 times the amount of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) considered safe by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Bangladesh ranked second, with pollution levels more than 15 times higher than the WHO guideline, while Pakistan followed closely, exceeding the safe limit by more than 14 times.
Other countries with dangerously high pollution levels included the Democratic Republic of the Congo and India.
The report also showed that 91% of the countries studied failed to meet WHO’s air quality standards.
Frank Hammes, Global CEO of IQAir, emphasised the urgent need for action.
“Air pollution remains a critical threat to both human health and environmental stability, yet vast populations remain unaware of their exposure levels,” he said.
He added that air quality data is essential in shaping policies and protecting people.
The report also highlighted the lack of air quality monitoring in some regions, especially in Africa, where there is only one monitoring station for every 3.7 million people.
According to the report, air pollution in Latin America worsened due to wildfires in the Amazon rainforest.
Meanwhile, Oceania was named the cleanest region, with most of its cities meeting WHO’s air quality guidelines.
Aidan Farrow, Senior Air Quality Scientist at Greenpeace International, warned that failing to act on pollution today will have long-term consequences.
“The World Air Quality Report should be a rallying call for urgent and concerted international efforts to cut pollutant emissions,” he said.
IQAir also announced an initiative to install air quality monitors in over one million schools worldwide.
The organisation believes this will help provide more people with real-time pollution data and push for cleaner air globally.
Source: globalsouthworld.com
