Only 17% of global cities had safe air in 2024, air quality report finds

Global study finds 126 of the 138 countries analysed – 91.3 per cent – exceeded safe air quality limits

Less than one-fifth of the cities worldwide met the international criteria for clean air in 2024, a global study has found.

The IQAir World Air Quality Report, which analysed data from over 40,000 air quality monitoring stations across 8,954 locations in 138 countries, found that only 17 per cent of cities met the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) annual PM2.5 guideline of 5 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³).

The vast majority of the world’s population continues to breathe unsafe air, with pollution levels far exceeding recommended limits in most regions.

The study found that 126 of the 138 countries analysed – 91.3 per cent – exceeded the WHO guideline, with several recording pollution levels more than ten times the safe limit.

The most polluted country was Chad, which had an annual PM2.5 concentration of 91.8 µg/m³, 18 times higher than the WHO threshold. Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and India also topped the list of countries with the worst air pollution.

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