World Air Quality Report:
Bangladesh was the most polluted country in the world in 2021, says the World Air Quality Report prepared by the Swiss-based air quality technology company IQAir in its latest report released.
- In terms of particulate matter in the air, Bangladesh recorded an average PM2.5 level of 76.9 micrograms per cubic metre in 2021 against the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended maximum permissible level of 5 micrograms per cubic metre.
- Earlier, in 2018, 2019 and 2020 also Bangladesh was found to be the most polluted country in the world.
- However, the PM2.5 level has shown a decline in Bangladesh from 77.1 micrograms per cubic metre in 2020 which was even higher at 83.3 in 2019 and 97.1 in 2018.
- The data reveals that not a single country in the world managed to meet the WHO’s air quality standard in 2021.
- All over the world, 93 cities reported PM 2.5 levels at 10 times the recommended level.
- Among the cities, Dhaka was the second most polluted city in the world with a PM 2.5 level of 78.1 just below New Delhi which had a PM 2.5 level of 85.1 in 2021.
- IQAir analysed data from 6475 cities across 117 countries for air quality in 2021 to arrive at the conclusion.
- Countries and regions in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia suffered from the highest annual average PM2.5 concentration weighted by population.
