According to IQAir, a monitoring system for air pollution all over the world, there were eighty-three out of one hundred and three worst Indian cities for air pollution in 2023. In these cities, the levels of PM2.5 were higher than WHO standards by a factor of >10. It focused on PM2.5, or fine particulate matter, which is the smallest and most deleterious pollutant. Less than nine percent of over seven thousand eight hundred cities analyzed across the globe had an average PM2.5 level exceeding five micrograms per cubic meter.

The report emphasizes that human health is affected greatly by air pollution. According to IQAir Global CEO Frank Hammes, air pollution reduces people’s lives in highly polluted countries by between three and six years. He stressed that there is no need for such suffering due to air pollution if only the environment is improved.

These fine particles (PM2. 5) have the ability to enter deep into human lungs through inhalation and then pass through blood vessels. They come out from multiple sources like fossil fuel burning, dust storm or forest fire etc. PM2. 5 is associated with respiratory diseases like asthma, heart and lung diseases, cancer, children’s inability to think well, among others.

Begusarai in Bihar state of Northern India had the highest average annual PM2. 5 level measuring 118. 9 among all monitored cities worldwide (>23×WHO). Delhi, Mullanpur, Guwahati (Assam), followed each other in ranking within Indian cities by IQAir .

Air pollution was worst in Central and South Asia. In the year 2023, these regions had four top polluted countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Tajikistan. There were 29 out of 30 of the most polluted cities in South Asia, with a high ranking given to Lahore, New Delhi, and Dhaka in 3 cities, respectively.

The IQAir report proves that air pollution is a problem that affects all people equally. The study covered a total of 7,812 locations from 134 countries, regions or territories across the globe. Analysis shows that about 92. 5% of them did not meet the PM2.5 standard posed by WHO. Only Finland, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius, and French Polynesia had “good” air quality in just ten out of one hundred thirty-four countries and territories.

Millions of people die annually due to health problems arising from air pollution. Research published in the BMJ in November estimated five point one million deaths yearly globally due to air pollution from fossil fuels. WHO claims that 6. 7 million persons succumb annually because of the combined impact of outdoor and indoor air pollutant agents.

Pollution levels rebounded throughout most parts of Asia, where it had decreased before. China recorded a 14% rise in Beijing’s average PM2.5 concentration to 93µg/m^3 from the previous year’s figure (<82). However, Chinese cities are no longer so much ranked globally following clean air policies adopted over the last decade. Hotan, the most contaminated city in China, took fourteenth place according to the IQAir ranking (with a high ranking given that there is one word too many at present).

Additionally, there is an insufficient number of stations that have been put in place to monitor the quality of air in most countries found in South America, Africa, and the Middle East; this leads to incomplete information about air quality in these areas. Even though there was some progress concerning the coverage of African nations in comparison with the past, there was monitoring data that was enough from only twenty-four out of fifty-four countries in Africa.