Italy, Turkey and Greece are among the European holiday hotspots with the highest levels of air pollution, while the Costa del Sol and Iceland have some of the best air quality, according to a new study.
The global air quality survey, conducted by IQAir, shows that 124 of the 134 countries and regions with available data exceeded the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual average PM2.5 guideline of 5 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3) in 2023.
PM2.5 is particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less (a micrometer is one millionth of a meter). For comparison, human hair has a diameter of 50-70 micrometers and a fine piece of beach sand has a diameter of 90 micrometers.
IQAir said: “Air pollution is estimated to cause one in nine deaths worldwide and is the greatest environmental threat to human health.” It causes asthma and lung disease, among other things.
The most (and least) polluted countries in Europe
The Balkan region suffers from the lowest air pollution levels in Europe. Bosnia and Herzegovina has the worst situation, with an average PM2.5 value (27.5 µg/m3) comparable to those in Senegal and Uganda. However, this is a marked improvement compared to 2020, when that figure was 40.6. In second place for the worst air quality in Europe is North Macedonia, followed by Montenegro and Serbia.
Northern European countries can breathe easier. Iceland (4 µg/m3) has some of the cleanest air in the world – surpassed globally only by Mauritius and French Polynesia. Estonia, Finland and Sweden are the other European countries with a low concentration of particulate matter.
How do our favorite holiday destinations score?
Looking at the ten most popular holiday destinations worldwide (according to Tripadvisor research from 2023), the destinations with the cleanest air are Benidorm in Spain and Albufeira in Portugal (judging by air quality measurements from the nearest urban settlements Alicante and Faro). The other top beach destination, Antalya, suffers from much poorer air quality – in the bottom 13th percentile of all cities worldwide.
Of Britain’s favorite city break destinations, Amsterdam has the best air quality, followed by Paris, Barcelona, New York City and Rome. One of the worst cities in the world is Dubai, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 43.6 µg/m3. For comparison, the annual average value in Kensington is 7.9.
The best (and worst) places in Britain
There are only four parts of England that meet WHO guidelines of 5 micrograms or less per cubic meter. These are Newton Abbot in South Devon (5µg/m3), Redcar in North Yorkshire (4.9), Stape in North Yorkshire (4.5) and Chirk in Wales (4.2). There are many cleaner air zones in Scotland, including Edinburgh (4.9), Motherwell (4.1) and Inverness (4.5). Nowhere in Northern Ireland meets WHO guidelines.
The best and worst in the world
The most polluted country in the world in terms of particulate matter in 2023 was Bangladesh (79.9 µg/m3), which is more than 15 times higher than the WHO’s annual PM2.5 guideline. This is followed by Pakistan (73.7), India (54.4), Tajikistan (49) and Burkina Faso (46.6).
The Central and South Asia region was home to 97 of the 100 most polluted cities on earth. The vast majority of these cities, 83 in total, are in India. The three that do not fall under Central or South Asia are Benoni in South Africa, Tay Ho in Vietnam and South Tangerang in Indonesia. The most polluted city in the world is Begusarai, in the northeastern corner of India on the north bank of the Ganges, with an average annual PM2.5 value of 118.9 µg/m3.
Only seven countries in the study meet the annual WHO guidelines for PM2.5 of an annual average of 5 µg/m3 or less. These are Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand, plus the overseas territories of Bermuda and French Polynesia. The least polluted urban settlement in the study is Kuusamo, Finland, in the Northern Ostrobothnia region, close to the Russian border.
What about now?
IQAir also collects live air quality measurements in major cities around the world. At the time of writing, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, Kathmandu (169 µg/m3), Delhi (168), Dhaka (162) and Lahore (158) are among the most polluted cities on earth. Anything between 151 and 200 in the live rankings is classified as ‘unhealthy’. The clearest skies are found in Detroit (4 µg/m3), Auckland (6 µg/m3) and Tokyo (8 µg/m3). The average in London is currently 33 µg/m3, which falls into the “Good” category.
How the data is collected
The IQ Air survey includes all cities that provided annual PM2.5 data from ground-level air quality monitoring stations, with hourly data for a minimum of 60 percent of the year (equivalent to at least 5,256 hours of an available 8,760).
For the 2023 survey, IQAir collected data from more than 30,000 air quality monitoring stations at 7,812 locations in 134 countries. However, there were many countries and regions that did not have enough data to be included in the study. More than a third of the population of the African continent does not live in an area where air quality data is kept.
IQAir says: “While the number of countries and regions with air quality monitoring has steadily increased over the past six years, significant gaps remain in the government-run regulatory toolbox in many parts of the world.”
The countries of Chad, Sudan and Iran are among dozens of countries completely absent from the study due to a lack of publicly available monitoring data.
“Low-cost air quality monitors, sponsored and hosted by citizen scientists, researchers, community advocates and local organizations, have proven to be valuable tools for closing gaps in air monitoring networks around the world,” IQair added.