This is where you will find the cleanest air in the world; India 5th most polluted country

The report, which looks at the data from over 40,000 air quality monitoring stations across 138 countries, territories, and regions, and was analysed by IQAir’s air quality scientists, says Mayaguez in Puerto Rico was the cleanest metropolitan area of 2024, with an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 1.1 μg/m3.

Most polluted cities in the world 2024.

In terms of regional air quality, Oceania emerged as the cleanest area with 57 per cent of cities meeting the WHO guideline. The region comprises three countries – Australia, French Polynesia, and New Zealand.

“Australia reported an unchanged national concentration of 4.5 µg/m³, New Zealand saw a marginal increase of 0.1 µg/m³, and French Polynesia recorded a decrease of 0.7 µg/m³. The capitals of all three countries also reported annual average concentrations within the WHO guideline. Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, however, experienced a year-over-year increase of 1.2 µg/m³, reaching 4.3 µg/m³. Although still within the guideline, continued increases at this rate could eventually breach the limit. Oceania maintained the highest percentage of cities meeting the WHO guidelines, with over 56% of monitored cities reporting annual average concentrations below 5.0 µg/m³,” the report says.

In terms of regional air quality, Oceania emerged as the cleanest area with 57 per cent of cities meeting the WHO guideline.

The most polluted countries in the world are as follows:

Chad (91.8 μg/m3): The annual average concentration in the Central African country is more than 18 times the WHO PM2.5 annual guideline.

Bangladesh (78.0 μg/m3): The annual average concentration here is more than 15 times the WHO guideline.

The region comprises three countries – Australia, French Polynesia, and New Zealand.

Pakistan (73.7 μg/m3): The concentration is more than 14 times the WHO annual guideline.

Democratic Republic of the Congo (58.2 μg/m3): The annual average concentration is over 11 times the WHO guideline.

India (50.6 μg/m3): The annual average concentration is over 10 times the WHO PM2.5 annual guideline.