Every country exceeds new PM2.5 annual limit set by WHO: Report

A new report found that no country in 2021 met the updated air quality guidelines defined by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Key findings of the report:

• Concentration of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) was found to be within WHO standards in only 222 out of 6,475 cities covered in the report by IQAir.
• The concentration in 93 per cent of the cities was 10 times the new guideline.
• This was the case in 48 per cent of India’s cities.
• India was among the top five countries with the highest concentration of PM2.5, with Delhi as the most polluted capital in the world.
• The city recorded an increase of over 14 per cent in the concentration of PM2.5 in 2021 compared to 2020.
• Dhaka (Bangladesh), N’Djamena (Chad), Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Muscat (Oman) followed Delhi in the grim list of polluted capital cities.
• Of the 15 most polluted cities in Central and South Asia in 2021, 12 were in India.
• Only the territories of New Caledonia, United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico met updated WHO PM2.5 air quality guidelines.

New WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines:

• In September 2021, the United Nations health agency tightened the global air quality norms and lowered the annual concentration of PM2.5 to five microgram (μg) from 10μg.
• New WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs) provide clear evidence of the damage air pollution inflicts on human health, at even lower concentrations than previously understood.
• The guidelines recommend new air quality levels to protect the health of populations, by reducing levels of key air pollutants, some of which also contribute to climate change.