The Capital Cities With the Worst Air Pollution In the World - Hermiston Herald
The Capital Cities With the Worst Air Pollution In the World | Finance | hermistonherald.com
Coughing, wheezing, headache, dizziness and irritated eyes—these are common short-term effects of air pollution.
The long-term is worse: the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research says that long-term exposure to air pollution is linked to serious illness and disease in multiple body systems, including lungs, heart, liver and nervous system. A growing body of evidence indicates that breathing polluted air also may cause neurodegeneration, such as Alzheimer's disease, and mental health problems.
IQAir 2022 World Air Quality Report
1. N’Djamena, Chad
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 89.7
Chad was the country with the worst air pollution. While the report contains data from over 30,000 air quality monitoring stations, only 156 stations produced all the included data for the continent of Africa, with just one in Chad, in the city of N’Djamena. Air pollution most severely impacts already vulnerable populations. More than 90% of pollution-related deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries, the report says.
2. New Delhi
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 89.1
India's National Clean Air Program has a target of 40% reduction in PM concentration by 2026, and seeks to reduce PM concentrations by 20%-30% by 2024 in certain cities, the report says.
In the above image of New Delhi in 2021, a municipal truck uses an anti-smog gun to spray water on the road to suppress dust to help reduce particle pollution.
3. Baghdad
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 86.7
4. Manama, Bahrain
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 66.6
5. Dhaka, Bangladesh
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 65.8
6. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 63.0
7. Kuwait City
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 57.5
8. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 48.0
9. Dushanbe, Tajikistan
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 47.7
10. Cairo
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 47.4
11. Abuja, Nigeria
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 46.5
12. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 46.2
13. Khartoum, Sudan
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 44.6
14. Kigali, Rwanda
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 44.0
15. Doha, Qatar
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 41.8
16. Kathmandu, Nepal
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 40.7
17. Islamabad, Pakistan
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 40.6
Although the capital city ranks No. 17, Pakistan ranked as the third most polluted country. Of all the cities in the dataset--not just the capitals-- Lahore, Pakistan, was the most polluted.
18. Hanoi, Vietnam
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 40.1
Power generation from fossil fuels, motor vehicles emissions, and industrial factories are still significant contributors of air pollution in Vietnam, the report says. Vietnam recently partnered with a U.S. agency to reduce environmental pollution.
19. Kampala, Uganda
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 39.6
20. Jakarta, Indonesia
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 36.2
21. Tehran, Iran
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 36.1
22. Tashkent, Uzbekistan
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 33.5
23. Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 32.4
24. Yerevan, Armenia
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 31.4
25. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 31.3
26. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 30.6
27. Accra, Ghana
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 30.1
28. Beijing
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 29.8
29. Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 29.0
30. Vientiane, Laos
2022 average PM2.5 concentration: 27.6
You can check your local air quality at IQAir.
Related Knowledge Center: Air emissions
More than 30 years after the last major update of the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Supreme Court has upended the ability of Congress to give the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies broad scope to combat air pollution, including the emission of greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, further Biden administration efforts to limit emissions face opposition in the courts.