99 of the 100 Cities with the Worst Air Quality Are in Asia... Which City Ranks the Highest?

Among the Top 100 Polluted Cities, 83 Are in India
Korea's Air Quality Four Times Worse Than WHO Standards
Pacific Island Polynesia Has the Best Air Quality Worldwide

Among the world's 100 cities with the most severe air pollution caused by fine particulate matter (PM2.5), 99 are located in Asia. Korean cities also recorded serious air pollution levels exceeding four times the World Health Organization (WHO) standard.

On the 19th, the global air quality analysis company 'IQAir' released the '2023 World Air Quality Report.' The report compared last year's fine particulate matter concentrations across 134 countries and regions.

The survey results showed that the majority of the top 100 cities with the worst PM2.5 pollution worldwide were in Asia. In particular, the air quality pollution in the populous country of India was found to be severe.

India covered in fog
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The city with the worst air quality, Begusarai in Bihar state, northern India, recorded an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 118.9㎍/㎥, exceeding the WHO standard (annual average 5㎍/㎥) by a staggering 22 times.

Moreover, 83 Indian cities were included in the top 100 city rankings, and it was found that 1.3 billion people, equivalent to 96% of India's total population, breathe air polluted more than seven times the WHO standard.

By country, air quality pollution levels in Northeast Asian countries such as South Korea and China were also severe. Last year, China's PM2.5 concentration was 32.5㎍/㎥, about 6% higher than the previous year. South Korea's PM2.5 concentration was 19.2㎍/㎥, slightly increased from 18.3㎍/㎥ the previous year, approaching four times the WHO standard.

In Southeast Asia, Indonesia's PM2.5 concentration surged by 22% to 37.1㎍/㎥ compared to the previous year, and major cities in Vietnam and Thailand also showed serious air quality pollution.

Meanwhile, the country with the cleanest air quality was French Polynesia (3.2㎍/㎥), located in the Pacific Ocean. Other top-ranking countries included Mauritius (3.5㎍/㎥), Iceland (4.0㎍/㎥), Grenada (4.1㎍/㎥), Bermuda (4.1㎍/㎥), New Zealand (4.3㎍/㎥), Australia (4.5㎍/㎥), Puerto Rico (4.5㎍/㎥), Estonia (4.7㎍/㎥), and Finland (4.9㎍/㎥). Generally, countries with low population density or island nations far from urban centers had cleaner air quality.