The 2021 World Air Quality Report, which analyses PM2.5 measurements from monitoring stations in 6,475 cities in 117 countries, regions and territories, also found that only three per cent of cities had managed to meet the guidelines.
Fine particle pollution, known as PM2.5, is commonly accepted to be the most harmful, widely-monitored air pollutant and has been found to be a major contributing factor to health effects such as asthma, stroke, heart and lung diseases. It leads to millions of premature deaths every year.
Last year, MPs urged the UK government to amend the Environment Bill to include targets for lower concentrations of PM2.5.
In an analysis of the WHO data, IQAir found that only the territories of New Caledonia, US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico met the WHO’s updated guidelines, alongside 222 out of 6,475 global cities covered in the report.
Furthermore, 93 cities in the report had annual PM2.5 concentrations exceeding 10 times the guidelines...