5 Indian cities among world's top 10 most polluted
What's the story
The 2025 World Air Quality Report released by the Swiss firm IQAir has placed five Indian cities among the top 10 most polluted in the world. These include Uttar Pradesh's Loni, Meghalaya's Byrnihat, Delhi, Ghaziabad and West Bengal's Ula (Birnagar). Pakistan has been ranked as the world's most polluted country in 2025.
Pollution levels
Byrnihat, Ghaziabad and Ula also on list
Loni was ranked as the most polluted city in the world with a PM2.5 level of 112.5 ug/m3, which is nearly 22 times the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended limit of 5ug/m3. Byrnihat follows at rank three with a PM2.5 level of 101.1 ug/m3 and Delhi ranks fourth at 99.6 ug/m3. The second spot is China's Hotan. Ghaziabad and Ula are also on the list at fifth and 10th positions, with PM2.5 levels of 89.2 ug/m3 and 86.8 ug/m3, respectively.
Report details
Report analyzed PM2.5 air quality data from 9,446 cities
The 2025 IQAir World Air Quality Report analyzed PM2.5 air quality data from 9,446 cities across 143 countries, regions and territories. The data was collected from over 40,000 regulatory monitoring stations and low-cost sensors worldwide. The report highlights a worsening trend in global air quality, with only 14% of cities meeting WHO guidelines in 2025, down from 17% in the previous year.
Pollution rankings
Pakistan most polluted country in world
Pakistan has been named the world's most polluted country in 2025, with PM2.5 levels up to 13 times higher than WHO recommendations. Bangladesh follows Pakistan, with Tajikistan, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo coming in third, four and fifth place of most polluted countries. The report also found that only a handful of countries, including French Polynesia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, among others, meet WHO's annual average PM2.5 guideline.