Most Polluted Counties 2022

 Pollution is the presence of contaminants or Introduction that can have a harmful effects on the natural environment. There are  2 most prominent forms of pollution are water pollution and air pollution, though many other kinds of pollution forms exist. For instance: light, sound, and soil pollution.

Many kinds of pollutions exist that can have a long-lasting and broad negative impact upon the health of human beings, abimals, and plants, or entire ecosystems, and its very important to know about them too.

Air pollution and its impact

What are the Impacts of Air pollution? 

Air pollution is firstly found through the burning of fossil fuels. The main contributors are fossil-fuel-powered vehicles (trucks, busses ,cars, ships, aircraft, etc.) and coal- or oil-burning factories and power plants. Though, any activity that involves the fossil fuels or burning of wood can release particulate matter. This involves household-level sources like candles, tobacco products, stoves and ovens, and fireplaces. Wildfires and Volcano are notable sources of air pollution too.

Air pollution has been proven to contribute to health problems including worsening of asthma, breathing issues, and even congenital disabilities. Pure Earth states that, toxic pollution is amongst the top risk factors for non-communicable diseases globally. Non-communicable diseases account for 72 percent of total deaths, 16 percent of which are caused by toxic pollution in the world. Toxic pollution is responsible for 22 percent of total cardiovascular disease, 25 percent of stroke deaths, 40 percent of lung cancer deaths, and 53 percent of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

This aligns with data from the World Health Organization (WHO), which indicates  that because of the air pollution there are 7 million premature deaths occurs every year. 91-99 percent of the total world's population lives in those areas where air quality exceeds WHO recommended guidelines.

Particle Pollution

The United States Environmental Protection Agency measures 5 main pollutants, all of which are regulated through the Clean Air Act:

sulfur dioxide

carbon monoxide

ground-level ozone

particle pollution (also known as the particulate matter, including PM2.5 and PM10)

nitrogen dioxide

Of these mentioned, particle pollution is the most commonly pollution monitored. The World Health Organization evaluated the concentration of PM2.5 particles to determine the most polluted place on the Earth. PM2.5 (fine particulate matter 2.5) refers to tiny particles or droplets in the air that are 2.5 microns (µg) or less in diameter.

PM2.5 is an air pollutant and can be a health concern when present in high concentrations. Cities such as New York, issue a PM2.5 Health Advisory when conditions are considered to be unhealthy for sensitive groups. In latest years, wildfires have triggered an increasing number of PM2.5 warnings in many other regions as well, including portions of Australia, Europe, Africa, and in the western United States.

The World Health Organization (WHO) target for air pollution is 0-10 µg/m³. IQ Air, which measures pollution in 109 countries around the globe, considers measurements above 35.5 to be unhealthy for sensitive groups, levels between 55.5 and 150.4 to be unhealthy for all, and anything higher is either very unhealthy (150.5-250.4) or hazardous (250.5 or higher).

Top 10 Countries with the Worst Air Pollution - PM2.5 exposure (µg/m³) - IQ Air 2020

1: Bangladesh - 77.10

2: Pakistan - 59.00

3: India - 51.90

4: Mongolia - 46.60

5: Afghanistan - 46.50

6: Oman - 44.40

7: Qatar - 44.30

8: Kyrgyzstan - 43.50

9: Indonesia - 40.70

10: Bonsia & Hezegovina - 40.60

While the IQ Air list is respectable, it is not the only available source of air pollution data. Using data from Seattle, Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the Health Effects Institute has released its own list ranking the levels of air pollution of 196 nations via the State of Global Air report.

Top 10 Countries with the Worst Air Pollution - PM2.5 exposure (µg/m³) - State of Global Air 2020 (2019 data)

  1. India - 83.2
  2. Nepal - 83.1
  3. Niger - 80.1
  4. Qatar - 76
  5. Nigeria - 70.4
  6. Egypt - 67.9
  7. Mauritania - 66.8
  8. Cameroon - 64.5
  9. Bangladesh - 63.4
  10. Pakistan - 62.6

The two lists differ significantly, most likely due to differences in recording systems and the fact that the IHME data includes 196 countries to IQ Air's 109. Still, many of the same countries appear, with the rankings often decided by thin margins.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) used by the United States Environmental Protection Agency is slightly more lenient than the IQ Air scale (by about 50 µg/m³). Values of 0-100 are generally thought of as satisfactory. However, values from 101-200 are considered unhealthy for certain at-risk groups, values 201-300 are viewed as unhealthy for everyone, and levels above 300 are deemed hazardous for all.

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) determined the cleanest countries in the world, that have clean water, high air quality, clean water, and strong environmentally-friendly policies and initiatives. These cleanest countries the world are Switzerland, France, and Denmark.

As the damage from pollution has become more apparent, more countries in the world are finding out for the to green alternatives to prevent further damage to the Earth and facing the harmful effects. Wind and Solar energy, eco-friendly building materials, and non-toxic products are increasingly being used to preserve the human beings animals and planets. While these green initiatives are taking place all over the world, some countries have a long way to go.

Country-by-country profiles of the nations with the worst air pollution in the world (per IQ Air 2020)

1. Bangladesh

Bangladesh thats a part of the continent of Asia is the most polluted country in the world, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 77.10, which is nonetheless a decrease from 83.30 in 2019 and 97.10 in the year of 2018. The country's primary environmental pollutants are water and air pollution, noise pollution groundwater contamination, and solid wastes. City of Dhaka is 1 of the most polluted cities in the world. In terms of the air pollution, Brickmaking industry, is the largest source in Bangladesh which employs 1 million Persons and creates twenty three billion bricks annually. The kilns used in brickmaking burn coal or wood and create mass amounts of dust and smoke. Due to high demand for bricks, the brickmaking industry is only expected to grow more bricks Kiln, leading to more air pollution in the country.

2. Pakistan

Pakistan is the 2nd most polluted country in the world, which has an average PM2.5 concentration of 59.00. AQI levels in Punjab province of Pakistan were consistently between the "near unhealthy" or "very unhealthy" ratings for most of the year 2019 and even reached as high as 484. Because of the growing number of vehicles on the road Pakistan is experiencing rising pollution and lack of wide roads, High-scale losses of trees, smoke from steel mills and bricks kiln, and the burning of garbage. Pakistani citizens ask their government for doing enough to monitor or combat the crises.

3. India

The 3rd most polluted country in the world is India, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 51.90. Of the thirty most polluted cities in the world, Twenty one of them are located in India. Kanpur City is the most polluted city in India and the world, where per month the city's medical college receives about 6 hundred respiratory illness patients. India's unhealthy pollution levels are from sources such as burning of wood and coal, vehicles, forest fire and dust stsulfur dioxideorms. India's capital region Delhi, is notorious for some of the worst air in India, closing of schools, forcing flight cancellations, causing traffic accidents, and even turning the white marble walls of the Taj Mahal green and yellow. In India rural areas are also heavily affected by pollution, as residents of rural areas rely on fuels such as wood and dung for heating and cooking and still practice the burning of crop stubble.

4. Mongolia

the fourth-most polluted country in the world is Mongolia. Mongolia's average PM2.5 concentration is 46.60. The largest sources of pollution in Mongolia is the burning of coal and other biomass, such as crop or wood residue, in stoves. In Ulan Bator Mongolia's capital, respiratory infections have increased 270 percent over the last 10 years, and childs that live in the capital city of Mongolia have a 40 percent lower lung function than those children's living in the rural areas. About 70 to 90 percent of pregnant mothers being treated at a family health center in Mongolia are negatively impacted by air pollution. Infants as young as 2 days old are being diagnosed with pneumonia or other respiratory illnesses.

5. Afghanistan

The 5th most polluted country in the world is Afghanistan, with an average PM2.5 level of 46.50. In the year 2017, statistics show that air pollution was more dangerous than the war in the country of Afghanistan. That year, about 26 thousands residents lost their lives due to air pollution-related diseases while 3,483 residents lost their lives due to conflict. About 80 percent of drinking water in Afghanistan is polluted as well due to the lack of rainfall,  insufficient infrastructure in cities and irregular use of groundwater. The shortage of clean drinking water commonly results in food poisoning.

Here are the 10 countries with the most pollution:

1: Bangladesh - 83.3

2: Pakistan - 65.81

3: Mongolia - 62

4: Afghanistan - 58.8

5: India - 58.08

6: Indonesia - 51.71

7: Bahrain - 46.8

8: Nepal - 44.46

9: Uzbekistan - 41.2

10: Iraq - 39.6

Read this story too.... 

Most Polluted Country 2022

No comments