Top Most Air Polluted Cities Around The World

4 out of 5 people who live in cities are breathing in dangerous levels of toxins. The world health organization (WHO) looked at air pollution in 3,000 cities from 2008-2015. It rated urban areas based on pollutants like Sulfates, Nitrates and black carbon.

These cities in low income countries had some of the dirtiest air

• Zabol, Iran
• Shijiazhuang, China
• Tetovo, Macedonia
• Lima, Peru
• Monterrey, Mexico
• Onitsha, Nigeria

And these were among the dirtiest cities in high income countries

• Visalia, CA, USA
• Coyhaique, Chile
• Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Zywiec, Poland
• Gyeonggi, South Korea

The pollutants measured were smaller than 10 microns, about the size of a droplet of Fog. Air pollution increases the rates of stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases killing at least 3.7 million people every year. 

The WHO says more cities are stepping up to curb air pollution. But today 98% of low income countries and 56% of high income countries aren't meeting WHO guidelines.

"When air quality improves, health costs from air pollution related diseases shrink, worker productivity expands and life expectancy grows." - Dr. Carlos Dora, WHO