India Leading Global Air Pollution Crisis with 96% Population Exposed to Toxic Levels

A new report by IQAir has revealed that 96% of India’s population lives with levels of toxic fine particulate matter (PM2.5) seven times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended limits, making it the country most affected by poor air quality globally in 2023. The report ranked Begusarai as having the world’s worst air pollution last year due to its PM2.5 concentration of 118.9 microgrammes per cubic metre – over 20 times higher than WHO guidelines and more than double that recorded in second-placed Guwahati, Assam. India was followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Tajikistan as the worst performing regions globally for air pollution last year due to a combination of fossil fuel combustion, dust storms, wildfires, and agricultural practices. Meanwhile, over 83% (all exceeded WHO’s PM2.5 guidelines by more than ten times) out of 100 cities with the world’s worst air pollution in 2023 were situated within Asia; indicating a direct link between climate change exacerbating air quality problems globally due to shifts in weather patterns altering wind and rainfall dispersal, resulting in heightened levels of extreme heat becoming more frequent. The report also highlighted the lack of monitoring stations in Africa, South America, and Middle Eastern countries which results in underrepresented data for these regions; with only 24 out of a possible 54 African nations providing sufficient air quality information from their respective networks to IQAir’s ranking methods as more pressing community actions put pressurisation upon officials by local governments (NGO’s, companies and scientists) in monitoring pollution levels.