2024 World Air Quality Report

Here’s a summary of the latest global air-quality situation, based primarily on the IQAir “2024 World Air Quality Report” and other major sources.

🌍 Key global findings

The IQAir report states that only about 17% of cities worldwide meet the safe levels for fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) as set by the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
According to the State of Global Air Report 2024, outdoor air pollution was linked to about 8.1 million deaths globally in 2021.
WHO data highlight that nearly everyone globally (about 99%) breathes air that exceeds WHO guideline levels.

Cities in India dominate the global air-pollution rankings: for example, New Delhi was again listed among the world’s most polluted capitals in the 2024 report.
Some of the worst-polluted countries include Chad, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.
Example statistic: one town in India (Byrnihat) recorded annual average PM₂.₅ concentrations of ~128 µg/m³.

The burden of disease from air pollution includes stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic respiratory diseases — these account for nearly 90% of the deaths related to outdoor air pollution in the “State of Global Air” report.
Air pollution also has large economic costs: increased healthcare spending, lower productivity, etc.
Monitoring remains weak in many regions (notably parts of Africa and West Asia) so the real situation may be worse than reported.

More countries are adopting air-quality standards: as per WHO’s updated database, 17 % more countries now implement standards for key pollutants.
In certain regions, measurable improvements are occurring — for example better vehicle emissions standards, fuel changes, etc.
The fact that 17% of cities meet the guidelines is small but an improvement from previous years (eg: ~9%) according to commentary.

The gap between guideline levels (WHO) and real-world pollutant levels remains huge in many areas.
Many low- and middle-income countries bear the greatest burden, yet often have less monitoring/mitigation capacity.
Air-quality issues are tied to multiple sectors: transport, industry, energy, agriculture, waste. Addressing them requires systemic policy, infrastructure and investment.
The inter-link between air pollution and climate change means that climate policy and air-quality policy should go hand-in-hand.