Cover Young woman wearing protective face mask in city due to the polluted air (Photo: Getty Images)
Young woman wearing protective face mask in city due to the polluted air (Photo: Getty Images)
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Only ten out of 134 countries and regions around the world succeeded in meeting air quality standards in 2023. See Asia’s ratings here:
Air pollution is responsible for around seven million premature deaths every year around the world.
Every time we breathe, we suck in tiny particles that can potentially damage our lungs, hearts, and brains and cause a host of other health problems. The most dangerous of these particles, which can include anything from soot, soil dust, and sulfates, are fine particles 2.5 microns or less in diameter—shortened as PM2.5.
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Created from real-time air quality data sourced from IQAir’s monitoring platform, the 2023 World Air Quality Report provided a global review of air quality for the whole year. It used empirically measured PM2.5 data obtained from ground-level air monitoring stations across the globe.
Above The health impacts of PM2.5 by IQAir
Why PM2.5? It is a key component of air pollution—one of the six common pollutants monitored and regulated by environmental agencies due to its significant impacts on human health and the environment. Exposure to PM2.5 air pollution leads to numerous health conditions, including but not limited to asthma, cancer, stroke, and lung disease.
Singapore and Philippines received an average of 13.4 and 13.5 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³) respectively, only exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) PM2.5 guideline by two to three times. In particular, Calamba City in the Philippines ranked sixth in Southeast Asia for having the safest air quality with 8.2 μg/m³ average PM2.5. Carmona City in Cavite (8.9 μg/m³) and Balanga City in Bataan (9.2 μg/m³) also made the list.
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Above The 2023 World Air Quality Report visualisation framework (Image: 2023 World Air Quality Report by IQAir)
The 2023 World Air Quality Report visualisation framework (Image: 2023 World Air Quality Report by IQAir)
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Following Singapore and Philippines are Maldives which achieved a 15.3 μg/m³ average PM2.5, Hongkong a 15.6, Macao a 16.2, South Korea a 19.2, Sri Lanka a 19.3, Taiwan a 20.2, Kazakhstan a 22.2, Mongolia and Malaysia a 22.5, Cambodia a 22.8, Thailand a 23.3.
Meanwhile, Armenia received a 26.4 μg/m³ average, Myanmar a 28.2, Uzbekistan a 28.6, Vietnam and Laos 29.6, China a 32.5, and Kyrgyzstan a 33.1.
Heavily polluted Asian countries—exceeding WHO’s PM2.5 guideline over 10 times—are Indonesia with a 37.1 rating, Tajikistan a 49.0, India a 54.4, Pakistan a 73.7, and Bangladesh a 79.9.
Despite joint efforts, only ten countries (a mere nine per cent of cities worldwide) met the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline, underscoring the work still needed to be done in the battle against air pollution. While PM2.5 poses direct health risks, its implications extend beyond human health to complex environmental processes impacted by the Earth’s climate.
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Angela Nicole Regis Guiral is a digital editor at Tatler Philippines. She studied journalism and has since written features that look closely at how culture, lifestyle and social impact converge, while occasionally wandering into the worlds of style and travel.
