The most polluted countries were Chad, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and India. Air pollution in India, which is home to six of the 10 dirtiest cities in the world, fell by 7% between 2023 and 2024. The air quality in Beijing is now almost the same as in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. To create the ranking, the researchers averaged real-time data on air pollution, measured at ground level, over the course of the calendar year. Air quality monitoring is worse in parts of Africa and west Asia, where several countries were excluded from the analysis.

Source: The Guardian March 11, 2025 17:22 UTC