Only Seven Nations Met 2024 Air Quality Standards
A new report reveals that only seven countries worldwide met the World Health Organization's air quality standards in 2024. The data underscores the persistent and widespread challenge of air pollution. This finding comes as global leaders prepare for upcoming climate summits.
- The seven countries that met the WHO's air quality standards were Australia, Estonia, Iceland, Grenada, Barbados, the Bahamas, and New Zealand. - The WHO guideline, updated in 2021, recommends that annual average concentrations of PM2.5—fine particulate matter that can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream—should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter. - At the other end of the spectrum, the most polluted countries in 2024 were Chad and Bangladesh, with average smog levels more than 15 times higher than WHO guidelines. Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and India also ranked among the most polluted nations. - Air pollution has become the second leading risk factor for death globally, accounting for an estimated 8.1 million deaths in 2021. It is associated with a range of noncommunicable diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and lung cancer. - The global economic impact of air pollution is substantial, with health-related damages estimated at $8.1 trillion in 2019, equivalent to 6.1% of the world's GDP. These costs stem from increased healthcare needs and reduced worker productivity. - Efforts to monitor global air quality recently faced a setback with the shutdown of the U.S. State Department's global air quality monitoring program. This program was a key source of public data for many developing nations. - India, which ranked as the fifth most polluted country, was home to 12 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world. The most polluted metropolitan area globally in 2024 was Byrnihat in India.
