World Air Quality Report, 2025

News: IQAir recently released its 8th World Air Quality Report (2025) highlighting global air pollution trends, health risks, and monitoring gaps.

About World Air Quality Report, 2025

• World Air Quality Report evaluates pollution levels, based on annual average PM2.5. 
• Released by: It is published by Swiss air quality technology company IQAir.
• Edition: This is the eighth edition of the report.
  • The first edition of this Report was released in 2018.
• The report analyzed data from monitoring stations across 9,446 cities in 143 countries, regions and territories.
• Findings of the report related to India:
  • India ranked as the sixth most polluted country in the world based on annual average PM2.5 concentration levels.
  • Loni in Uttar Pradesh was identified as the most polluted city in the world and Delhi ranked fourth globally in terms of PM2.5 pollution levels.
  • Loni recorded an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 112.5 µg/m³, which was nearly 23 percent higher than in 2024 and more than 22 times higher than the guideline level recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
  • Kolkata has been placed 49th in pollution ranks among 259 cities in India.
  • Among the ten most polluted cities in the world, five cities were from India, namely Loni, Byrnihat, Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Ula.
• Findings of the report related to World:
  • Pakistan ranked as the most polluted country, followed by Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Chad, and Congo.
  • The top 25 most polluted cities in the world were located in India, Pakistan, and China, with India being home to three of the four most polluted cities globally.
  • 54 countries experienced an increase and 75 countries recorded a decrease in annual average PM2.5 levels, two countries remained unchanged, and 12 countries were newly represented in the dataset.
  • Only 13 countries and territories globally met the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline. India is not one among them.
• Sources of pollution: The report highlighted that wildfires intensified by climate change played a major role in worsening global air quality in 2025.
  • Record biomass emissions from Europe and Canada contributed approximately 1,380 megatons of carbon, which significantly affected atmospheric pollution levels.
• Suggestions
  • The report emphasized that expanding access to real-time air quality monitoring data is essential for protecting public health and enabling communities to take informed action.
  • The report also highlighted that reducing emissions and addressing climate change are necessary steps to achieve long-term improvements in global air quality.