India Ranked 3rd In Air Quality Index: 2023
By: Geetanjali
India was ranked as the third most polluted country after Bangladesh and Pakistan in 2023, by the World Air Quality Report by IQAir which is a Swiss quality tech company.
World Air Quality report 2023 was published on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Report was finalised from the data collected over the year from 137 countries, as per the reports Delhi was the most populated capital of 2023 with PM 2.5 at 92.7 ug/m3 followed by Lahore and Kathmandu at 2nd and 3rd most polluted capitals in 2023.
Also out of 15 most polluted cities in the world in 2023 13 were Indian cities. Begusarai from Bihar, Guwahati from Assam and New Delhi were among the Top 3 most polluted cities in the world in 2023 by the World Air Quality Report.
India’s rank has degraded in the last three years. In 2022 India was seen progressing towards a cleaner environment with its rank improving from 5th most polluted in 2021 to 8th most polluted in 2022. In the reports only 7 out of 137 countries met WHO’s safe air quality level, which includes: Finland, Australia, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius, Estonia, and New Zealand.
India’s Rank in World Air Quality Index by IQAir in the last three years.
| Country | Rank (as per the year) |
| India | 3rd worst (2023) |
| India | 8th worst (2022) |
| India | 5th worst (2021) |
World Air Quality Framework
WHO’s safe air quality limit of PM is: 5 (ug/m3)
| Colour Code | PM level | WHO level | Annual break of WHO’s specified PM level |
| Blue | 0-5 (ug/m3) | Air Quality Guideline | WHO PM 2.5 guideline |
| Green | 5.1-10 (ug/m3) | Initial target 4 | Exceeds PM2.5 guideline 1-2 times |
| Yellow | 10.1-15 (ug/m3) | Initial target 3 | Exceeds PM2.5 guideline 2-3 times |
| Orange | 15.1-25 (ug/m3) | Initial target 2 | Exceeds PM2.5 guideline 3-5 times |
| Red | 25.1-35 (ug/m3) | Initial target 1 | Exceeds PM2.5 guideline 5-7 times |
| Purple | 35.1-50 (ug/m3) | Exceed targeted levels | Exceeds PM2.5 guideline 7-10 times |
| Maroon | > 50 (ug/m3) | Exceed targeted levels | Exceeds PM2.5 guideline more than 10 times |
List of Top 10 most polluted cities in the world in 2023
| Rank | Country |
| 1. | Bangladesh |
| 2. | Pakistan |
| 3. | India |
| 4. | Tajikistan |
| 5. | Burkina Faso |
| 6. | Iraq |
| 7. | UAE (United Arab Emirates) |
| 8. | Nepal |
| 9. | Egypt |
| 10. | Democratic Republic of Congo |
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