Most polluted capital cities – ranked

Most polluted capital cities – ranked


The world’s most polluted capital cities have been ranked, revealing alarming ranges of dangerous particles in our city areas

Delhi in India is essentially the most polluted capital metropolis on this planet, in line with the newest World Air High quality Report from Eanda Swiss air‐high quality expertise firm.

On the different finish of the size, Nassau within the Bahamas is the world’s least polluted capital metropolis. The Bahamas can also be the nation with the cleanest air in the world total.

The annual world evaluation makes use of empirically measured floor‐stage PM2.5 knowledge – from over 40,000 monitoring stations throughout 8,954 areas in 138 nations, territories, and areas – to analyse annual air high quality publicity at metropolis, nation and regional ranges.

An air quality monitoring station in a city park
Phuchit/Dreamstime An air high quality monitoring station in a metropolis park

The report contains in depth metropolis and nationwide rankings, regional summaries and a world map. It paints a sobering image: air air pollution stays a world problem, with solely a handful of nations assembly WHO tips.

But incremental progress is happening – cities adhering to thresholds have almost doubled year-over-year. By combining strong measurement practices with broad geographic knowledge, the report supplies a significant useful resource within the battle for cleaner air.

10 most polluted capital cities

IQAir estimates that 99% of the worldwide inhabitants lives in areas not assembly WHO air high quality suggestions. Air air pollution is the second-leading world threat issue for untimely demise, particularly amongst kids.

  1. DELHI, India
  2. N’djamena, chad
  3. Dhaka, Bangladesh
  4. Kinshasa, DR Congo
  5. Islamabad, Pakistan
  6. Dushanbe, Tajikistan
  7. Hanoi, Vietnam
  8. Kathmandu, Nepal
  9. Abuja, Nigeria
  10. Jakarta, Indonesia
Tuktuks in a busy polluted Delhi street
Kubadvorak18/Dreamstime Delhi is the world’s most polluted capital metropolis

8 least polluted capital cities

Solely 17% of worldwide cities and simply eight capital cities meet the WHO’s air air pollution tips.

  1. Nassau, Bahamas
  2. San Juan, Puerto Rico
  3. Papeete, French Polynesia
  4. Bridgetown, Barbados
  5. Reykjavik, Iceland
  6. Canberra, Australia
  7. Wellington, New Zealand
  8. Tallinn, Estonia
Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas, – the least polluted capital city
Ruth Peterkin/Dreamstime Nassau within the Bahamas is the least polluted capital

Air High quality Index

The report analyses outcomes from over 40,000 monitoring stations world wide, making it the world’s largest centralised platform for measuring air high quality.

It additionally attracts on knowledge collected from 1000’s of fresh air initiatives administered by governments, non-profit organisations, residents, communities and personal firms.

The report focuses on PM2.5 concentrations (μg/m³) as this pollutant is extensively thought to be most dangerous to human well being. PM2.5 is outlined as ambient airborne particles measuring as much as 2.5 microns in measurement. A micron (or micrometre) is one-millionth of a metre or one-thousandth of a millimetre.

A colourful porta cabin with equipment on the roof
Cbechinie/Dreamstime An environmental knowledge monitor station in Germany

Its microscopic measurement permits the particles to enter the bloodstream through the respiratory system and journey by way of the physique, inflicting a variety of well being issues, together with bronchial asthma, lung most cancers and coronary heart illness.

Air air pollution can also be related to low delivery weight, elevated acute respiratory infections and stroke.

The WHO’s Air Quality Guideline value for PM2.5 publicity, which has been confirmed to be freed from well being impacts, is 10µg/m³ or 10 micrograms of air pollutant per cubic meter of air.

A hazy evening in Islamabad – one of the most polluted capital cities
Shahid Khan/Dreamstime.com Islamabad in Pakistan additionally performs badly

Most polluted capital cities – full rating

The World Air High quality Report ranks 121 nationwide capital cities from essentially the most polluted to the least.

Rank Metropolis PM2.5 focus
1 DELHI, India 91.8
2 N’djamena, chad 91.6
3 Dhaka, Bangladesh 78.0
4 Kinshasa, DR Congo 58.2
5 Islamabad, Pakistan 52.4
6 Dushanbe, Tajikistan 46.3
7 Hanoi, Vietnam 45.4
8 Kathmandu, Nepal 45.1
9 Abuja, Nigeria 42.2
10 Jakarta, Indonesia 41.7
11 Kampala, Uganda 41.0
12 Kigali, Rwanda 40.8
13 Baghdad, Iraq 40.5
14 Cairo, Egypt 39.9
15 Yaounde, Cameroon 36.3
16 Accra, Ghana 36.3
17 Abu Dhabi, UAE 32.0
18 Manama, Bahrain 31.8
19 Tashkent, Uzbekistan 31.4
20 Doha, Qatar 31.3
Rank Metropolis PM2.5 focus
21 Beijing, China 30.9
22 Sarajevo, Bosnia Herz. 30.8
23 Kuwait Metropolis, Kuwait 30.2
24 Vientiane, Laos 27.5
25 Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 26.5
26 Lome, Togo 26.0
27 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 25.7
28 Harare, Zimbabwe 24.8
29 Yerevan, Armenia 24.4
30 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 23.7
31 Dakar, Senegal 22.3
32 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 22.2
33 Phnom Penh, Cambodia 21.9
34 Skopje, North Macedonia 21.6
35 Lusaka, Zambia 21.4
36 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 21.2
37 Antananarivo, Madagascar 20.5
38 Tripoli, Libya 19.9
39 Pretoria, South Africa 19.6
40 Mexico Metropolis, Mexico 19.5
Rank Metropolis PM2.5 focus
41 Guatemala Metropolis, Guatemala 18.9
42 Bangkok, Thailand 18.9
43 Baku, Azerbaija 18.3
44 5, Peru 18.2
45 Belgrade, Serbia 17.9
46 Macao, Macao Sar 17.7
47 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 17.7
48 Georgetown, Guyana 17.5
49 Seoul, South Korea 17.5
50 Manila, Philippines 17.4
51 Santiago, Chile 17.3
52 San Salvador, El Salvador 17.3
53 Colombo, Sri Lanka 16.9
54 Djibouti, Djibouti 16.8
55 Podgorica, Montenegro 16.8
56 Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 16.4
57 Asuncion, Paraguay 15.9
58 Bucharest, Romania 15.7
59 Ljubljana, Slovenia 15.6
60 Algiers, Algeria 15.4
Rank Metropolis PM2.5 focus
61 Astana, Kazakhstan 15.4
62 Nicosia, Cyprus 15.2
63 Libreville, Gabon 15.2
64 Tegucigalpa, Honduras 15.2
65 Tbilisi, Georgia 15.1
66 Israel, Israel 15.0
67 Chisinau, Moldova 14.7
68 Tirana, Albania 14.5
69 Nairobi, Kenya 14.4
70 Pristina, Kosovo 14.2
71 Zagreb, Croatia 14.1
72 Warsaw, Poland 13.4
73 Bogota, Colombia 12.7
74 Paramaribo, Suriname 12.5
75 Male, Maldives 12.2
76 Budapest, Hungary 12.0
77 Bratislava, Slovakia 12.0
78 Montevideo, Uruguay 11.5
79 Prague, Czech Rep 11.4
80 Singapore, Singapore 11.4
Rank Metropolis PM2.5 focus
81 Sofia, Bulgaria 11.2
82 Sucre, Bolivia 11.1
83 Athens, Greece 11.0
84 Berlin, Germany 10.8
85 Rome, Italy 10.1
86 Moscow, Russia 10.0
87 Vienna, Austria 9.7
88 Quito, Ecuador 9.7
89 Kyiv, Ukraine 9.4
90 Amsterdam, Netherlands 9.3
91 Riga, Latvia 9.2
92 Vilnius, Lithuania 9.1
93 Tokyo, Japan 9.0
94 Ankara, Turkey 9.0
95 Buenos Aires, Argentina 8.9
96 Brussels, Belgium 8.9
97 George City, Cayman Islands 8.5
98 Paris, France 8.3
99 Madrid, Spain 8.1
100 London, UK 7.8
Rank Metropolis PM2.5 focus
101 Luxembourg, Luxembourg 7.7
102 Washington DC, USA 7.6
103 Lisbon, Portugal 7.4
104 Bern, Switzerland 7.2
105 Copenhagen, Denmark 7.1
106 Oslo, Norway 6.9
107 Dublin, Eire 6.6
108 Vaduz, Liechtenstein 6.5
109 Ottawa, Canada 6.0
110 Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago 6.0
111 Helsinki, Finland 5.5
112 Stockholm, Sweden 5.3
113 Brasilia, Brazil 5.2
114 Tallinn, Estonia 4.3
115 Wellington, New Zealand 4.3
116 Canberra, Australia 3.9
117 Reykjavik, Iceland 3.8
118 Bridgetown, Barbados 3.1
119 Papeete, French Polynesia 2.8
120 San Juan, Puerto Rico 2.6
121 Nassau, Bahamas 2.3

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