Only 222 of the 6,475 cities analyzed had an average air quality that met the WHO standard. Three areas were found to meet WHO guidelines: the French territory of New Caledonia and the US territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were among the countries with the worst air pollution, exceeding guidelines by at least 10 times.
The Scandinavian countries, Australia, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom were among the countries with the best air quality, with average values exceeding guidelines by 1 to 2 times.
In the United States, IQAir found that air pollution exceeded WHO guidelines by two to three times in 2021.
“This report underscores the need for governments around the world to help reduce global air pollution,” Glory Dolphin Hammes, CEO of IQAir North America, told CNN. “(Particulate matter) kills far too many people every year, and governments need to set stricter national air quality standards and develop better foreign policies that promote better air quality.”
Above: IQAir analyzed the average annual air quality for more than 6,000 cities and categorized it from the best air quality in blue (meets the WHO PM2.5 guideline) to the worst in purple (exceeds the WHO PM2.5 guideline by more). than tenfold). Source: IQAirIt is the first major global air quality report based on the new WHO annual air pollution guidelines updated in September 2021. The new guidelines have halved the allowable concentration of fine particulate matter – or PM 2.5 – from 10 to 5 micrograms per cubic meter. PM 2.5 is the smallest pollutant, but it’s also one of the most dangerous. When inhaled, it penetrates deep into the lung tissue where it can enter the bloodstream. It comes from sources such as fossil fuel burning, dust storms, and wildfires, and has been linked to a range of health threats, including asthma, heart disease, and other respiratory diseases.Millions of people die every year from air quality problems. According to the WHO, in 2016 around 4.2 million premature deaths were linked to particulate matter. If the 2021 guidelines had been applied this year, there could have been nearly 3.3 million fewer pollution-related deaths, according to the WHO.
IQAir analyzed air pollution monitoring stations in 6,475 cities in 117 countries, regions and territories.
In the US, air pollution increased sharply in 2021 compared to 2020. Of the more than 2,400 US cities analyzed, Los Angeles’ air remained the most polluted, despite a 6% decrease compared to 2020. Atlanta and Minneapolis saw a significant increase in pollution, the report showed.
“[The United States]’ dependence on fossil fuels, increasing severity of wildfires, and uneven enforcement of the Clean Air Act from agency to agency have all contributed to air pollution in the United States,” the authors wrote.
Researchers say the main sources of pollution in the US have been fossil-fueled transportation, power generation and wildfires, which are wreaking havoc in the country’s most vulnerable and marginalized communities.
“We are heavily dependent on fossil fuels, especially for transportation,” says Hammes, who lives a few miles from Los Angeles. “We can act wisely with zero emissions, but we still don’t. And that is having a devastating impact on the air pollution that we see in big cities.”
Wildfires caused by climate change played a significant role in reducing US air quality in 2021. The authors pointed to a number of fires that resulted in dangerous air pollution — including the Caldor and Dixie fires in California, as well as the bootleg Fire in Oregon that blew smoke up the east coast in July. China – which is among the countries with the worst air pollution – showed improved air quality in 2021. More than half of the Chinese cities analyzed in the report experienced lower levels of air pollution compared to last year. The capital, Beijing, continued a five-year trend of improving air quality attributed to a policy-driven retreat of polluting industries in the city, according to the report. The report also found that the Amazon rainforest, acting as the world’s main defender against the climate crisis, emitted more carbon dioxide than it absorbed last year. Deforestation and wildfires have threatened critical ecosystems, polluted the air and contributed to climate change.
“It’s all part of the formula that will or will lead to global warming.” Hammes said.
The report also revealed some inequalities: Some developing countries in Africa, South America and the Middle East still have few monitoring stations, resulting in a lack of air quality data in those regions.
“If you don’t have that data, you’re really groping in the dark,” Hammes said.
Hammes noted that the African country of Chad was included in the report for the first time due to an improvement in its surveillance network. IQAir found that the country’s air pollution was the second highest in the world behind Bangladesh last year.
Tarik Benmarhnia, a climate change epidemiologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography who has studied the health effects of wildfire smoke, also noted that relying solely on monitoring stations can create blind spots in these reports.
“I think it’s great that they relied on different networks and not just government sources,” Benmarhnia, who was not involved in this report, told CNN. “However, in many regions there are not enough stations and alternative technologies.”
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded in its 2021 report that reducing fossil fuel use would not only slow the rate of global warming, but would also have the added benefit of improving air quality and public health .
Hammes said the IQAir report is another reason for the world to say goodbye to fossil fuels.
“We have the report, we can read it, we can internalize it and really commit to action,” she said. “There has to be a big movement towards renewable energy. We must take drastic action to turn the tide of global warming; otherwise the effects and train we are (would be) on would be irreversible.”