Pakistan Air Pollution Crisis 2025: Country Tops Global Pollution Rankings
Pakistan air pollution crisis reached a critical point in 2025. A recent report shows PM2.5 levels far above safe limits. In many areas, pollution measured up to 13 times higher than WHO guidelines. As a result, health risks continue to rise across the country.
Global Pollution Trends
The IQAir report paints a concerning global picture. However, only 13 countries met safe air quality standards this year. This number improved slightly from seven last year. Still, 130 out of 143 regions failed to meet the guidelines.
Bangladesh and Tajikistan ranked second and third on the list. Meanwhile, Chad dropped to fourth place. Experts believe limited data affected its ranking. In addition, the shutdown of a US monitoring programme reduced data collection.
Previously, US embassies tracked air quality worldwide. Therefore, several regions lacked reliable data in 2025. For example, Burundi and Turkmenistan were excluded from the report.
Cities and Key Factors
At the city level, pollution stayed severe across Asia. Loni in India recorded the highest pollution globally. Hotan in China followed closely behind. Notably, the 25 most polluted cities were all in India, Pakistan, and China.
Globally, only 14 percent of cities met WHO standards. This marks a drop from 17 percent last year. Wildfires in Canada also worsened air quality. As a result, pollution spread across parts of the US and Europe.
However, some countries showed improvement. Australia, Iceland, and Estonia met safe standards. In addition, Indonesia and Cambodia improved due to wetter conditions. Similarly, Mongolia reduced pollution levels by 31 percent. Overall, 75 countries improved air quality in 2025, while 54 saw conditions worsen.
