Not a Single Country met WHO Air Quality Standards in 2021

Not a single country has managed to meet the air quality standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2021, a survey of pollution data in 6,475 cities confirmed on Tuesday, and smog even rebounded in a few areas after a COVID-associated dip.

The WHO recommends that average annual readings of small and hazardous airborne particles known as PM2.5 should not be over 5 micrograms per cubic metre after changing its guidelines last year, claiming that even this much low concentrations can cause significant health risks.

However, according to data from IQAir, a Swiss pollution technology company that monitors air quality, only 3.4% of the cities surveyed met the criteria in 2021. In 93 cities, PM2.5 levels have reached 10 times the recommended levels.

The overall pollution level of India has also worsened in 2021 and New Delhi remained as the most polluted capital in the world. Bangladesh was the most polluted country, and Chad ranked second after its data was included for the first time in the study.

According to IQAir, China, which has been fighting pollution since 2014, fell from 14th place last year to 22nd place in the 2021 PM2.5 ranking, with average measurements slightly improving in a year to 32.6 micrograms. 

Hotan, in the northwestern part of Xinjiang, is the poorest performing city in China, with average PM2.5 levels above 100 micrograms, mainly due to sandstorms. After being overtaken by India's Bhiwadi and Ghaziabad, it fell to third place on the list of the most polluted cities in the world.