More and more people consider fresh and clean air as the most important factor to choose a city as the new place to live or just travel into. A new research ranks the cities and countries with the cleanest air in the world. We examine the result to give you which city has the cleanest air in the world.
Which city has the cleanest air in the world?
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Reykjavík, Iceland
- Launceston, Australia
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- Bergen, Norway
- Wollongong, Australia
- Trondheim, Norway
1. Zurich, Switzerland Zurich has the cleanest air in the world. The pollution status is established using average PM2.5 levels measured over a 12-month period. And this Swiss city has the world’s lowest annual value of 0.51 g/m3, making it the lowest in the world.
2. Reykjavík, Iceland Despite being Iceland’s largest city and capital, Reykjavik is claimed to be the cleanest city in the country. With yearly PM2.5 readings of 1.9 g/m3, it’s hardly surprising that it’s focusing on using more alternative energy sources. It is also a city by the ocean, so you should know Does the ocean improve air quality?
3. Launceston, Australia Launceston, a city in northern Tasmania, is another place with little air pollution. During a 12-month period, annual PM2.5 levels reach roughly 3.68 g/m3.
4. Honolulu, Hawaii Despite the fact that Hawaii’s capital is a popular tourist destination, it still maintains some of the cleanest air in the world in 2022. The amount of PM2.5 in this location is measured to be around 4.04 g/m3 per year, which is an outstanding result.
5. Bergen, Norway Bergen, another vibrant city in Norway, with some of the highest air quality in the world. Its PM2.5 levels are around 4.39 g/m3 per year, making it ideal not only for inhabitants but also for visitors.
6. Wollongong, Australia This Australian seaside city not only has amazing vistas, but it also has clean air. With annual PM2.5 values of roughly 4.51 g/m3, it ranks high on the list of the world’s least polluted cities.
7. Trondheim, Norway Trondheim is another proud Scandinavian representative on the list of the world’s least polluted cities. This is due to the low levels of PM2.5, which average roughly 4.77 g/m3 each year. It is worth noting that the World Health Organization established health-based guidelines stating that long-term exposure to PM2.5 should be kept below the 5 g/m3 threshold (5 micrograms per cubic meter of air).
Which countries has the cleanest air in the world?
According to the current World Air Quality Report by IQAir, the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico has the cleanest air in the world. The survey rates 106 countries and territories according to the amount of fine particulate matter in the air.
Air pollution is one of the most serious hazards to human health, killing seven million people each year. Poor air quality affects billions more people. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) believes that 92% of the world’s population is exposed to harmful air. People are looking for the best air purifier to stay healthy in any polluted environments.
Puerto Rico, a US unincorporated territory, has the cleanest air in the world, followed by the French region of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean and the US Virgin Islands in third place. Sweden (4th), Finland (5th), Norway (6th), Estonia (7th), and New Zealand are the top-ranked sovereign states (8th).
Look up for Which country has highest oxygen?
On the other end of the scale, Bangladesh has the poorest air quality, followed by Pakistan, India, Mongolia, and Afghanistan.
IQAIR has created a map of the countries with the cleanest air in the world. Only the countries in blue have met the WHO’s standards. Because of their small size, the particles can enter the bloodstream through the respiratory system and move throughout the body, producing a variety of health concerns such as asthma, lung cancer, and heart disease. Low birth weight, increased acute respiratory infections, and stroke are also linked to air pollution.
If you want to know Is air quality better by the ocean?, you should read our article.
It also uses data from thousands of clean air programs managed by governments, non-profit organizations, citizens, communities, and commercial businesses.
The report focuses on PM2.5 concentrations because this is typically recognized as the pollutant most hazardous to human health. PM2.5 particles are described as airborne particles measuring up to 2.5 microns in size. A micron (or micrometer) is one millionth of a meter or 1000th of a mm.
Which cities has the most polluted air in the world?
The survey also ranks thousands of cities around the world. Delhi made news in 2020 when limitations were imposed due to the epidemic, resulting in significantly improved air quality.
However, the city quickly returned to “normal” when pollution reached “emergency” levels in November 2020, engulfing the city in thick toxic haze.
Delhi is the most polluted capital city in the world. Bangladesh, China, India, and Pakistan share 49 of the world’s 50 most polluted cities, with India alone accounting for nine of the top ten. Hotan, China, is the most polluted city in the world, whereas Delhi, India, is the most polluted capital.
Most polluted cities
- Hotan, China
- Ghaziabad, India
- Bulandshahr, India
- Bisrakh Jalalpur, India
- Bhiwadi, India
- Noida, India
- Greater Noida, India
- Kanpur, India
- Lucknow, India
- Delhi, India
Most polluted capital cities
- Delhi, India
- Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
- Kabul, Afghanistan
- Doha, Qatar
- Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
- Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herz.
- Manama, Bahrain
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Kathmandu, Nepal
Check our article: Why do I breathe better by the ocean? Even in the most polluted countries, a city near the ocean is always better.
