11 Worst Countries for Air Pollution

Pollution isn’t only bad for the world we live in, but can also be hazardous to our very health, although that doesn’t seem to be the idea fueling any changes in the world, especially in these 11 worst countries for air pollution.

What it all boils down to is the fact that the air around us has too many foreign particles in it, whether they’re biological molecules or other materials. Since these can float up into the atmosphere, they can cause various issues, including medical ones and even death to humans, animals, as well as crops. The entire environment, whether man-made or natural, has to suffer from pollution. And it’s even worse when people are having some medical issues, as it can be seen in these worst cities for people with asthma in America.

Nowadays, with the increased development of the world’s industries, gasses from cars and so on, the situation is quickly becoming dire as the stratospheric ozone layer is depleting creating a hole that lets in harmful UVB wavelengths. Reports from the World Health Organization indicate that in 2012 alone about 7 people died earlier than they should have due to medical issues born because of high pollution.

The world’s air is healthier in some areas of the globe and not doing so well in others, mostly overly industrialized areas. For instance, if you want to check out and see how things are in your area, you can take a look at the live World Air Quality Index site. The visual map gives you access to countless flags with numbers planted in most countries and states indicating just how bad the situation is.

For instance, indexes between 0 and 50 are the best, with the situation growing in gravity with every added 50 to 100 points. Starting with 101 the air can be unhealthy for sensitive groups such as children, the elderly and people with various respiratory illnesses. From 151 to 200 the air is unhealthy, from 201 to 300 it’s very unhealthy and from 301 to 500 it’s hazardous. Thankfully, the situation hasn’t gotten so bad, but it’s not good either.

The World Health Organization released a report regarding the levels of PM10, which are the particles in the air that we consider regular pollution, be them dirt, smoke and so on, as well as the PM2.5 which are finer particles polluting the air, such as toxic compounds or the heavy metals that lift to the sky following fires, for instance. We ranked them all for both the PM10 and the PM2.5 indexes, added the points and came up with this new list of the 11 worst countries for air pollution.

11. India

Average PM2.5 pollution: 59 ug/m3

Average PM10 pollution: 134 ug/m3

India is an extremely massive country, ranking seventh in the world by area, and it is home to over 1.2 billion people, making it the second most populated country. That being said, it is also one of the most polluted nations on the globe, with its air being barely breathable in many areas. Construction sites, the growing industrial sites, large open fires, as well as vehicle emissions add up to make one ugly scenario, putting India on the eleventh spot among the 11 worst countries for air pollution. A few years back, New Delhi’s air pollution was 60 times higher than what is regularly considered safe.

According to WHO, ten of the country’s cities ended up in the top 20 cities with the highest PM10 levels, while 13 cities had the same faith on the top 20 cities with the highest PM2.5 levels.

10. Iran

Average PM2.5 pollution: 76 ug/m3

Average PM10 pollution: 127 ug/m3

Iran is one of the larger countries in the world, ranking 18^th as far as area goes and 17^th by population, with an estimated 78 million people. High traffic volumes, a growing industry sector and poor government management have made Iran the tenth worst country in the world by air pollution. One city ended up on the list with the highest PM10 levels, and one on the list with the highest PM2.5 levels. It’s a pretty grim situation, but hopefully, things will get back on track in the near future.

9. Senegal

Average PM2.5 pollution: 40 ug/m3

Average PM10 pollution: 179 ug/m3

Senegal may be a small country, ranking 87^th in the world (the latest estimate indicating 13.5 million people), but it has a serious problem with pollution. The country is an example among African nations when it comes to its transparency about Air Quality levels, which is commendable, but the data isn’t reported like in other nations around the globe. For instance, they only hand out data once a day, instead of every hour, and the pollutants aren’t expressed in mg/m3, but rather on estimate levels – good, moderate, unhealthy, and very unhealthy.

The country’s government has been trying to implement a campaign against pollution, but it’s going to take time before we see any results.

8. United Arab Emirates

Average PM2.5 pollution: 61 ug/m3

Average PM10 pollution: 161 ug/m3

The United Arab Emirates is one of the wealthiest regions of the world, but that doesn’t seem to have much influence on the level of pollution and how they handle things. On the other hand, most of the fortune built here comes from the oil and gas industries which are some of the biggest pollutants in the world. The UAE is rather small in size, but the population varies between 5 and 9 million, depending on who’s handing out the estimates. Either way, that’s a rather big number of people who can be affected by the polluted air in the area.

7. Mongolia

Average PM2.5 pollution: 64 ug/m3

Average PM10 pollution: 140 ug/m3

Mongolia’s territories cover nearly 604,000 square miles, the 19^th in the world, but the population barely hits the 3 million mark. Regardless, the cold winters that “plague” the country push the people to burn plenty of coal, which is a huge pollutant. The country’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar is one of the most polluted cities in the world, with the harmful dust rising to levels that are 6 to 7 times higher than the regular standards.

6. Egypt

Average PM2.5 pollution: 74 ug/m3

Average PM10 pollution: 136 ug/m3

Egypt is a country with a history dating back thousands of years, with a rich culture and many traditions. Unfortunately, it seems like everything is going to drown in a cloud of smog soon if things keep going at the rate they’re going. With some 90 million people living on the 387,000 square miles Egypt spreads on, the country ranks sixth among the most polluted nations in the world. The number of cars on Egypt’s streets seems to be constantly growing, sending plenty of emissions into the air, while factories and power plants have no issues sending up their filth into the skies.

5. Bahrain

Average PM2.5 pollution: 57 ug/m3

Average PM10 pollution: 254 ug/m3

If you thought that pollution is something that only happens in big countries you’d be mistaken. That’s because Bahrain, our fifth worst county for air pollution only covers about 295 square miles and has some 1.3 million citizens. Energy production, mixed up with the emissions from the plants peppering the small country push up the concentrations of pollutants.

4. Bangladesh

Average PM2.5 pollution: 79 ug/m3

Average PM10 pollution: 163 ug/m3

Close neighbor to India, Bangladesh only spreads over close to 57,000 square miles, with a population estimated at nearly 169 million people. The air quality has been dropping at an alarming rate in the past decade or so, as the industries developed more and more. Unfortunately, it’s not just the air that’s suffering, but also the waters where the textile industries have dumped their wastewaters. The toxic wastes are damaging the fish stocks, fruit produce and vegetables.

3. Qatar

Average PM2.5 pollution: 92 ug/m3

Average PM10 pollution: 165 ug/m3

For a country as advanced as Qatar is, it’s saddening to see it on the list of the 11 worst countries for air pollution and so high up at that. On the other hand, it’s true that the country only spreads over some 4,400 square miles filled up over 2 million people, which means that they have to fill a smaller space with the necessary industries. In the case of Qatar, however, the high pollution numbers come from the high rate of construction, as well as the busy air traffic as the tourism in the nation grows every year, making for a very popular destination.

2. Afghanistan

Average PM2.5 pollution: 84 ug/m3

Average PM10 pollution: 268 ug/m3

With a population of over 35 million people, Afghanistan’s air isn’t as breathable as one would like. In fact, the heavy traffic congestions and the unlimited dust supply, paired up with geographical factors such as the high mountains in the area, translate into high pollution levels. The poverty rate isn’t all that great either, which means many people turn to alternatives to keep warm, including burning tires and plastic items, since they cannot afford luxuries such as electricity.

1. Pakistan

Average PM2.5 pollution: 101 ug/m3

Average PM10 pollution: 282 ug/m3

With a population closing in on the magic 200 million mark, Pakistan is a pretty large nation, both in size and in citizen numbers. This also means, however, that a lot of people are suffering the effects of the skyrocketing pollution, thousands dying every year due to related medical issues. A report a few years back indicated that every year some 80,000 hospital admissions were made due to air pollution, while chronic bronchitis is a pretty common occurrence. What’s worse, however, is the fact that millions of children suffer from respiratory diseases in the state that tops the list of the 11 worst countries for air pollution.