2021 World Air Quality Report: Bangladesh Remains Most Polluted

Air quality of Bangladesh was the worst in the world, while its capital, Dhaka, was the second most air polluted city in 2021, said a global report.

The 2021 World Air Quality Report by IQAir -- a global air quality data platform -- analysed PM 2.5 air pollution measurements from air monitoring stations in 6,475 cities of 117 countries, regions and territories.

The report released today finds that only three percent of cities and no single country met the latest World Health Organization's (WHO) PM 2.5 annual air quality guidelines.

Photo: IQAir

It shows Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan were among the countries with the worst air pollution, exceeding the WHO guidelines by at least 10 times.

The average annual PM 2.5 concentrations in Bangladesh was 76.9 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m3) of air; average annual PM 2.5 concentrations in Pakistan was 66.8 µg/m3 of air; and average annual PM 2.5 concentrations in India was 58.1 µg/m3 of air.

The report said with annual average PM 2.5 concentrations of 78.1 µg/m3, Dhaka ranked the second most polluted capital cities in the world, while Delhi with an average annual PM 2.5 concentrations of 85.0 µg/m3 topped the list.

Photo: IQAir

Australia, Canada, Japan and United Kingdom ranked among the best countries for air quality, with average levels that exceeded the WHO guidelines by one to two times.

"In 2021, Central and South Asia had some of the world's worst air quality and was home to 46 of the world's 50 most polluted cities," according to the report.

IQAir's 2021 World Air Quality Report is the first major global air quality report based on the updated annual WHO air quality guideline for PM2.5.

Photo: IQAir

The new guideline was released in September 2021 and cut the existing annual PM2.5 guideline value from 10 µg/m3 to 5 µg/m3.

Air quality of Bangladesh was also the worst in the world and Dhaka was the second most air polluted city in 2020, according to the platform.