(NewsSpace.com) – Air pollution is a big concern around the globe. The poorer the quality, the more it affects the quality of life. The World Health Organization (WHO) sets the standard for international levels, and IQAir, a Swiss environment technology company, recently found that the majority of countries fall beneath its established standards.
According to the key findings of the IQAir 2023 World Air Quality Report, only seven countries met the guidelines for clean air quality, which are currently set at the PM2.5 guideline, an annual average of 5 µg/m3 or less. Those countries are Australia, Finland, Iceland, Grenada, Estonia, New Zealand, and Mauritius. A stunning 92.5%, or 124 out of the 134 nations monitored, exceeded the guideline, including Bangladesh, which is said to have been the most polluted country in the world in 2023. Its rates were more than 15 times the standard. The other four countries rounding out the top five most polluted are Pakistan, India, Tajikistan, and Burkina Faso.
Various elements impact the air quality. For example, in Southeast Asia, transboundary haze and climate conditions were considered major factors. The most polluted metropolitan area in the world was in Begusarai, India. That nation also had the “four most polluted cities in the world.”
In the United States, the cleanest city is Las Vegas. Columbus, Ohio, was the most polluted major US city, while the most polluted city of all in the country was Beloit, Wisconsin. Most locations throughout the US exceeded the guideline by one to three times, though there were locales with higher rates. Canada was the most polluted country in North America for the first time since the company put out reports. Africa is the most underrepresented continent, with the fewest sensors available to collect data.
In order to gather the data, scientists pulled data from more than 30,000 air quality monitoring stations in 134 countries, regions, and territories. They are spread throughout 7,812 locations across the globe.
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