Pakistan ranked most polluted country in 2025, THIS Indian city named world’s most polluted, not Delhi, Noida, Gurugram
A new global air quality report has revealed that Pakistan was the world’s most polluted country in 2025. According to the report released by Swiss air monitoring firm IQAir on Tuesday, the level of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Pakistan was up to 13 times higher than the safe limits recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
PM2.5 refers to tiny pollution particles in the air that can enter the lungs and bloodstream, causing serious health problems such as respiratory diseases, heart conditions and even premature death.
Most Countries Fail to Meet WHO Air Quality Standards
The report analysed air quality data from 143 countries and territories. Out of these, 130 countries failed to meet the WHO guideline, which recommends that PM2.5 levels should remain below 5 micrograms per cubic metre.
After Pakistan, Bangladesh ranked as the second most polluted country, followed by Tajikistan in third place. Chad, which topped the list in 2024, moved down to the fourth position this year.
However, experts say Chad’s improvement may not reflect the actual situation. According to the report’s lead author Christi Chester Schroeder, the drop in pollution levels may be linked to missing data after the United States shut down a global air monitoring programme in March due to budget cuts.
Because of the closure of the monitoring system, several countries such as Burundi, Turkmenistan and Togo were not included in the 2025 rankings.
India’s Loni Named World’s Most Polluted City
At the city level, Loni in India, located near Ghaziabad, was recorded as the most polluted city in the world in 2025. The city reported an average PM2.5 level of 112.5 micrograms per cubic metre, which is far above the WHO limit.
Hotan in China’s Xinjiang region ranked second with PM2.5 levels of 109.6 micrograms. The report also highlighted that all of the world’s 25 most polluted cities were located in India, Pakistan and China, showing the severe air pollution problem in South and East Asia.