A view of smog in Punjab province. PHOTO FILE: AFP
Pakistan was ranked as the world’s smogiest country by 2025, with concentrations of dangerous tiny particles known as PM2.5 up to 13 times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended level, research showed on Tuesday. These particles, originating from combustion, industrial emissions and wildfires, penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream and contribute to heart and respiratory diseases and premature death.
Swiss air quality monitoring firm IQAir said in its annual report that 13 countries and territories kept average PM2.5 levels at the WHO standard of less than 5 micrograms per day. cubic meters last year, up from seven in 2024.
Karachi recorded dangerously high levels of PM2.5, with an AQI above 100, classified as “unhealthy for sensitive groups” on 29 September 2025. Cities such as Hyderabad and Lahore also face similar air quality issues.
The world’s top 25 most polluted cities were all in India, Pakistan and China. India’s Loni was the world’s most polluted city in 2025 with average PM2.5 levels of 112.5 micrograms, followed by Hotan in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang at 109.6 micrograms.
Bangladesh and Tajikistan were second and third on the most polluted list.
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In total, 130 out of 143 monitored countries and territories did not meet the WHO guideline. Only 14% of the world’s cities met the WHO standard by 2025, down from 17% a year earlier, when Canadian wildfires drove up PM2.5 across the US and as far as Europe.
Among the countries that met the standard by 2025 were Australia, Iceland, Estonia and Panama.
Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia all reported significant PM2.5 reductions compared to the previous year, thanks mainly to wetter and windier La Niña weather. Mongolia saw average concentrations drop 31% to 17.8 micrograms per cubic meter.
Chad, statistically the smogiest country in 2024, ranked fourth in 2025, but the drop in PM2.5 concentrations last year is likely to be the result of data gaps.
Last March, the United States shut down a global monitoring program that compiled pollution data collected from its embassy and consulate buildings, citing budget constraints. “The loss of the data in March made it look like there was a significant drop in PM2.5 levels (in Chad), but the thing is, we don’t know,” said Christi Chester Schroeder, lead author of the IQAir report.
The US decision eliminated a primary data source for many smog-prone countries, and Burundi, Turkmenistan and Togo were excluded from the 2025 report due to information gaps.
In total, 75 countries reported lower PM2.5 levels in 2025 compared to a year earlier, with 54 recording higher average concentrations, IQAir said.
