If you’re a globetrotter, where are you most likely to find poor air quality? Which cities rank as the most polluted globally, posing a significant risk to your health?
There are indeed a few locations in the Americas with air quality issues, but they pale in comparison to the major polluters in Asia, primarily India, where numerous cities make Mexico City seem like a pristine oasis.
During the onset of the pandemic, when shelter-in-place orders were issued and traffic was nearly nonexistent, the Himalayas became visible from Kathmandu and parts of northern India. Unfortunately, that clarity didn’t last long, as those areas reverted to their usual hazy conditions. You would need an AI image generator to visualize a clear sky with snow-capped mountains in the background.
If you’re seeking a straightforward answer on places to steer clear of, avoid India. This nation holds the questionable distinction of being home to 83 of the 100 most polluted cities in the world, according to a study utilizing data from IQ Air. In another report from an air monitoring organization, India featured 28 of the top 30 most polluted cities, with Dhaka and Peshawar being the only exceptions.
Indeed, the majority of the most polluted cities outside of India can be found in neighboring countries: Pakistan and Bangladesh. If you suffer from any respiratory issues, South Asia is the worst region on Earth for you. Depending on the time of year, China and Southeast Asia can also pose significant risks.
Asia Experiences Worse Air Pollution Than Other Regions
In the aforementioned study, Asia accounted for 99 out of the 100 most polluted cities on the planet, nearly a complete sweep. The sole exception was Benoni, South Africa.
Numerous factors contribute to this situation in Asia’s developing nations: annual crop burnings by farmers after harvest, insufficient regulatory control of factory emissions, reliance on dirty fuels such as coal, and inefficient vehicle engines that produce substantial air pollution. Anyone who has visited an Indian city has witnessed this firsthand, to the extent that some days it’s unhealthy to even venture outside.
If you plan on visiting India, it’s advisable to significantly limit your time in Delhi. As discussed in the section below, Delhi consistently ranks as the most polluted city in the world. Kolkata closely trails behind, with over 80 other cities experiencing hazardous air pollution levels, though fortunately for tourists, many are industrial hubs that may not be well-known.
Nevertheless, these reports may not be entirely comprehensive. There are severely polluted cities in Africa, but due to the lack of measurement or reporting on air quality, determining their severity is challenging. According to the data source used here, “Africa remains the most underrepresented continent, with one-third of its population still without access to air quality data.” This implies that there could be several African cities among the worst globally, yet they remain intentionally uninformed.
There may also be cities in South America with worse pollution levels, but that remains uncertain as “70% of the real-time air quality data in the Latin America & Caribbean region is sourced from inexpensive sensors.”
The 5 Most Polluted Cities Globally
According to the latest report from IQAir, these are the five cities with the highest air pollution levels, all located in South Asia:
- Delhi, India
- Lahore, Pakistan
- Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Karachi, Pakistan
- Kolkata, India
Here’s a concerning statistic that illustrates the extent of the impact:
Over 80 million people reside in the five most polluted major cities.
To provide some context, if those 80 million individuals gathered in one location, it would rank as the 20th largest country in the world, slightly smaller than Germany but larger than Thailand.
Regarding Thailand, Bangkok frequently appears on many most polluted cities lists, but its pollution levels can vary significantly throughout the year. These rankings are not static since weather conditions, fires, and varying precipitation can all influence air quality.
Bangkok