Nick Johns-Wickberg
A new report has found that Australia is one of just 12 regions in the world with acceptable levels of air pollution.
IQAir’s 2024 World Air Quality Report comprises data from 8,954 cities in 138 countries. It records PM2.5 data (measured in micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³)) in those locations and compares them against levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO recommends a maximum yearly average of 5μg/m³ of PM2.5. Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Estonia, Grenada, Iceland and New Zealand were the only seven countries to meet this guideline, with five other regions also having acceptable air quality.
A closer look
According to the report, Chad in central Africa has the most polluted air in the world, exceeding the WHO’s threshold 18 times over. Bangladesh and Pakistan round out the top three, with both countries registering air pollution around 15 times worse than the WHO’s recommended maximum.
Within Australia, Adelaide and surrounds recorded the worst air pollution during 2024. The Adeliade suburbs of Noarlunga Downs (17μg/m³), Smithfield (16.8) and Birkenhead (16.7) all recorded readings roughly 3.5 times the WHO’s recommended maximum, with all having worsened since 2023.
Spencer Gulf, located near the South Australian steel mining centre of Whyalla, recorded Australia’s highest average reading of 19.4μg/m³, nearly four times the WHO’s recommended maximum. This was up from 17.1 in 2023.
One positive amongst the data was the finding that the proportion of cities worldwide with acceptable air quality has nearly doubled since 2023, up from 9 per cent to 17 per cent.
An invisible killer
According to the WHO, 99 per cent of the world’s population lives in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution, and air pollution was responsible for 8.1 million deaths in 2021, making it the second biggest risk factor for death and the greatest environmental threat to human health.
The USA’s recent announcement that it will no longer monitor air quality globally could affect the availability of data for future reports. Since 2008, US embassies and consulates have been collecting and publishing air quality data in more than 60 countries. However, the Trump administration announced in early March that it would no longer do so.
You can access the report via the IQAir website.
Image courtesy of rawpixel via Freepik.
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