25 Most Polluted Cities in the World (2023 Rankings) – Smart Air

Air pollution is one of the leading causes of death around the world. But which cities and countries are the most polluted in the world? Smart Air analyzed 2022 air pollution data for 529 major cities from 88 countries around the world to create the 2023 updated ranking of the “25 Most Polluted Cities in the World”.

Watch: Run Down of Top 5 Most Polluted Cities in the World

Scroll down below for the full rundown of the world’s most polluted cities, which countries they’re in, and their annual PM2.5 levels. The annual average PM2.5 in microns (µg/m3) is also given. For reference, the WHO recommended annual limit is 5 microns.

Rankings: 25 Most Polluted Cities in the World in 2023

The rankings for the most polluted cities in the world are based on PM2.5 air pollution data from the 12 months prior to the publication date.

1. Dammam, Saudi Arabia (124.11 µg/m3)

Dammam air pollution ranked number 1 in the world Dammam air pollution ranked number 1 in the world

2. Lahore, Pakistan (111.63 µg/m3)

Lahore air pollution ranked number 2 in the world Lahore air pollution ranked number 2 in the world

3. Dhaka, Bangladesh (84.73 µg/m3)

Dhaka air pollution ranked 3rd worst in the worldDhaka air pollution ranked 3rd worst in the world

4. Delhi, India (84.39 µg/m3)

Delhi city ranked number 4 most polluted city in the worldDelhi city ranked number 4 most polluted city in the world

5. Muzaffarnagar, India (81.35 µg/m3)

Muzaffarnagar city ranked number 5 most polluted city in the worldMuzaffarnagar city ranked number 5 most polluted city in the world

6. Baghdad, Iraq (77.62 µg/m3)

Baghdad city ranked number 6 most polluted city in the worldBaghdad city ranked number 6 most polluted city in the world

7. Ghaziabad, India (74.72 µg/m3)

Ghaziabad air pollution ranked 7th worst in the world Ghaziabad air pollution ranked 7th worst in the world

8. Patna, India (67.20 µg/m3)

Patna air pollution ranked 8th worst in the world Patna air pollution ranked 8th worst in the world

9. Hapur, India (67.02 µg/m3)

Hapur city ranked number 9 most polluted city in the worldHapur city ranked number 9 most polluted city in the world

10. Peshawar, Pakistan (66.15 µg/m3)

Peshawar air pollution ranked 10th worst in the world Peshawar air pollution ranked 10th worst in the world

11. Lucknow, India (63.65 µg/m3)

Lucknow city ranked number 11 most polluted city in the worldLucknow city ranked number 11 most polluted city in the world

12. East London, South Africa (60.69 µg/m3)

East London city ranked number 12 most polluted city in the worldEast London city ranked number 12 most polluted city in the world

13. Pokhara, Nepal (59.15 µg/m3)

Pokhara city ranked number 13 most polluted city in the worldPokhara city ranked number 13 most polluted city in the world

14. Manama, Bahrain (57.38 µg/m3)

Manama city ranked number 14 most polluted city in the worldManama city ranked number 14 most polluted city in the world

15. Chandigarh, India (53.16 µg/m3)

Chandigarh city ranked number 15 most polluted city in the worldChandigarh city ranked number 15 most polluted city in the world

16. Hawally, Kuwait (52.24 µg/m3)

Hawally city ranked number 16 most polluted city in the worldHawally city ranked number 16 most polluted city in the world

17. Khorramshahr, Iran (51.44 µg/m3)

Khorramshahr city ranked number 17 most polluted city in the worldKhorramshahr city ranked number 17 most polluted city in the world

18. Jaipur, India (49.98 µg/m3)

Jaipur city ranked number 18 most polluted city in the worldJaipur city ranked number 18 most polluted city in the world

19. Xi’an, China (48.11 µg/m3)

Xi'an city ranked number 19 most polluted city in the worldXi'an city ranked number 19 most polluted city in the world

20. Kolkata, India (46.77 µg/m3)

Kolkata air pollution ranked 20th worst in the worldKolkata air pollution ranked 20th worst in the world

21. Anyang, China (46.64 µg/m3)

Anyang city ranked number 21 most polluted city in the worldAnyang city ranked number 21 most polluted city in the world

22. Xinxiang, China (46.05 µg/m3)

Xinxiang city ranked number 22 most polluted city in the worldXinxiang city ranked number 22 most polluted city in the world

23. Kampala, Uganda (44.99 µg/m3)

Kampala air pollution ranked 23rd worst in the world Kampala air pollution ranked 23rd worst in the world

24. Xuchang, China (44.88 µg/m3)

Xuchang city ranked number 24 most polluted city in the worldXuchang city ranked number 24 most polluted city in the world

25. Bamako, Mali (44.88 µg/m3)

Bamako city ranked number 1 most polluted city in the worldBamako city ranked number 1 most polluted city in the world

Read More: The 25 Least Polluted Cities in the World?

Analysis

Of the 25 most polluted cities in the world, 9 were located in India, 4 in China, and 2 in Pakistan. The most polluted city in the world is a notable climber in Saudi Arabia, with Dammam averaging 124.11 micrograms of PM2.5 as it was ranked 11th last year.

The number of Indian cities on the top 25 list decreased from 10 to 9 as one Chinese city joined the list.

Read More: Did Pollution in China’s Major Cities Increase?

All of the ranked cities had average air quality many times above the WHO recommended healthy limit. Many of the cities with the worst air quality are located in similar geographical areas on the globe. Other countries featured on the list in this 2023 update include Bangladesh, Iraq, South Africa, Nepal, Bahrain, Iran and Uganda.

Countries that joined back after being absent the previous year were Kuwait and Mali.

Data bias

Africa and South America lack air pollution reporting tools, so it is difficult to know the pollution levels on-the-ground in many of these cities.

The fact that so many Indian cities are featured on the list is a testament to the fact that they have large and wide air pollution monitoring networks set up to detect pollution levels.

Air Pollution Heat Map Paints a Clearer Picture

Below is a pollution heat map from the WHO. WHO research shows that over 99% of people in the world are breathing unsafe air with high air pollution levels.

Global Air Pollution MapGlobal Air Pollution MapImage: WHO

How Air Pollution Was Measured to Find Most Polluted Cities in World

The above rankings of the 2023 most polluted cities in the world were ranked based on their average PM2.5 pollution levels from the 12 months prior to the publication date. 

These small pollutants are under 2.5 micrograms in width and are considered to be one of the more dangerous pollutants due to their ability to enter deep into the lungs and bloodstream.

Open Data

The PM2.5 AQI 2022 world pollution data used for the rankings of the world’s worst polluted cities are openly available in this excel file. To download the complete raw data visit https://aqicn.org/data-platform/covid19/.

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