World Air Quality Report 2024
Find out the world's top cities and countries with the highest AQI, based on AQI and PM2.5 data.
2024 AQI Report
Global Air Quality Map - Historic AQI & PM2.5 Data
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World Air Quality Report 2024
About This Report
Worldwide Air Quality Report 2024
The World Air Quality Report 2024 by AQI aims to highlight the global air quality trends in 2024 to support the progress on environmental actions globally. Thus, the report focuses on the PM2.5 concentrations and AQI (Air Quality Index) across countries and cities. To offer a comprehensive air pollution view, both real-time and historical data from AQI.in have been collected and utilized.
The report analyzes the AQI and PM2.5 levels in the air across 5,750 cities in 140 countries and regions. The data for this report was collected from more than 15,432 air quality monitoring stations operated by governmental bodies, research institutions, universities, and other organizations.
Data Methodology
The data used in the following report was sourced from AQI.in, which monitors and collects real-time air quality. This report categorizes the data by countries, regions and cities and also includes city-wise and country-wise rankings. The Asia region has more extensive data coverage because of a higher number of air quality monitoring stations in the area.
Data Metrics
The report utilizes AQI and PM2.5 metrics to understand the air pollution risk globally.
- • AQI: Calculated based on the U.S. standardized measurement system.
- • PM2.5 Data: Reported in µg/m³ (micrograms per cubic meter), adhering to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for PM2.5 levels.
- • Cigarette data is based on PM2.5 levels using Berkeley’s rule: 1 cigarette = 22 µg/m³ PM2.5.
Summary
The World Air Quality Report 2024 by AQI.IN offers a detailed analysis of global air quality trends. The ranking in this report is derived from AQI (US standard) and PM2.5 levels. It represents the air quality trends for the year 2024 with countries’ values calculated based on the data collected from cities and locations within each country.
This report analyzes AQI and PM2.5 levels across 5,750 cities in 140 countries with data from over 15,432 air quality monitoring stations operated by governmental agencies, research institutions, and other organizations. The rankings highlight the countries and cities exceeding the safe limit of AQI levels. As per the report, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India emerged as the top three nations with the highest air quality levels in 2024. Here is the summary of the key findings of the report:
Key Findings
Continental Overview:
Asia recorded the highest AQI levels in the world, with 68% of cities recording AQI levels above the 'Good' category in 2024. Out of 39 top countries, 31 countries recorded high AQI levels. South and Central Asian countries recorded high air quality levels in the world. Oceania ranked as the least polluted continent globally with a total of 156 cities means 100% recorded 'Good' AQI levels.
Countries with the highest AQI levels:
Bangladesh, Pakistan and India rank among the countries with the highest AQI levels globally. Bangladesh recorded no good month for air quality throughout the year. Similarly, Pakistan also recorded no good month of air quality in 2024 and the annual average remained in the 'Poor' category. Only 10 cities in India achieved the ‘Good’ AQI annual average.
Cities with the highest AQI levels:
The top 10 cities in the world with the highest AQI levels are all in India. New Delhi secured the top rank. Then, Dhaka of Bangladesh and Peshawar of Pakistan ranked simultaneously after the other Indian cities. Out of the top 100 cities with the highest AQI levels in the World, 92 are in India. Highlighting the air pollution conditions in the country. China ranks the second Country in the number of cities with high AQI levels.
WHO Compliance:
Only 11.7% of cities around the world met the WHO annual guidelines for PM2.5. The lowest 0% and 2.3% Cities in Africa and Asia respectively met the WHO annual guidelines for PM2.5. Asia leads in air pollution in 2024, with 97.7% (2250 out of 2,309) of its cities exceeding the WHO guideline for PM2.5 (5µg/m³). Only 2.3% in Asia met the WHO annual guideline for PM2.5. Oceania recorded the cleanest air among other continents as 54.5% of cities met the WHO annual guidelines of PM2.5