SHOTLIST:
1. Various pollution in Toronto (Oct 4, 2023);
2. Various pollution in Buenos Aires (May 15, 2023);
3. Various pollution in India (Nov 5, 2024).

Only seven countries in the world have air quality considered "healthy" for the population, while Bangladesh, Pakistan and India top the list of countries with the highest air pollution on the planet, a report released on Tuesday revealed.

According to the study by IQAir Global, a Swiss air quality organisation that obtains data from more than 30,000 monitoring stations around the world, only seven countries - Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand - meet World Health Organisation (WHO) limits for PM2.5 particles, the most harmful to human health.
These are a type of microscopic soot particles smaller than the width of a human hair. When inhaled, PM2.5 penetrates lung tissue, where it can enter the bloodstream. It comes from sources such as fossil fuel burning, dust storms and forest fires, and has been linked to asthma, heart and lung disease, cancer and other respiratory diseases, as well as cognitive impairment in children. These particles are believed to be responsible for millions of premature deaths worldwide.
The study analysed 134 countries and regions and found that the vast majority of countries do not meet the standard that annual average PM2.5 levels should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3).

Moreover, only 9 per cent of the more than 7,800 cities surveyed worldwide had air quality that met the WHO standard.
According to the IQAir report, the man-made climate crisis, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, plays a "fundamental" role in influencing air pollution levels.