In data released on Tuesday, Pakistan has been ranked among the top three most smoggiest countries in the world during 2023. The other two countries are Bangladesh and India.
According to the report, these countries recorded particulate matter approximately 15 times higher than the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended levels.
The average concentrations of PM2.5, which are small airborne particles responsible for damaging the lungs, reached 73.7 micrograms per cubic meter in Pakistan. This figure is well above the WHO-recommended 5 micrograms.
“In 2023, annual PM2.5 concentrations in the country’s capital, Islamabad, have risen to the highest level in the city’s seven-year history in this report at 42.4 μg/m3 or nearly eight and a half times the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline level,” the 2023 Air Quality report revealed.
It was recorded at 79.9 micrograms per cubic meter in Bangladesh during the previous year. Christi Chester Schroeder, air quality science manager at IQAir, explained the reason behind this.
According to her, “Because of the climate conditions and the geography (in South Asia), you get this streak of PM2.5 concentrations that just skyrocket because the pollution has nowhere to go.”
“On top of that are factors such as agricultural practices, industry, and population density,” she added. “Unfortunately, it does look like it will get worse before it gets better.”
Bangladesh was ranked fifth for its air quality, and India at eighth in 2022. According to Md Firoz Khan, an air pollution expert at Dhaka’s North South University, about 20% of premature deaths in Bangladesh are caused by air pollution.
Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius, and New Zealand were the only countries meeting WHO standards in 2023, according to the IQAir report, which analyzed data from over 30,000 monitoring stations across 134 countries and regions.
