Most polluted countries in 2023: Greek regions with worst air quality

Global air quality figures are ominous, with only seven countries managing to “stay true” to WHO's annual particulate matter (PM2.5) guidelines, an IQAir report released on March 19 shows.

These countries are Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand. On the contrary, in top five most polluted countries in 2023 included:

1. Bangladesh (79.9 µg/m3) is 15 times the WHO annual particulate matter standard.
2. Pakistan (73.7 µg/m3) 14 times
3. India (54.4 µg/m3) 10 times
4. Tajikistan (49.0 µg/m3) 9 times
5. Burkina Faso (46.6 µg/m3) is 9 times the annual WHO particulate matter recommendation.

According to IQAir, the Greek city with the cleanest air – which is the noticeable difference between this report and our country – is Agios Pavlos.

Agios Pavlos is a territory of the Neapolis-Sikeon municipality of the urban complex of Thessaloniki in the north-east of the city with a population of 6852 inhabitants. It includes the areas of Agios Pavlos, Evangelistria and Kylia Dendra. Until 2010 it was an independent municipality, and as part of the Kallikratis program it joined the municipality of Neapolis-Sikeon. These two areas were created by refugees from Asia Minor who settled in this area after the Asia Minor catastrophe.

However, most of the cities where the survey data are collected exceed WHO guidelines. In Athens, hazardous indicators for human health are recorded in all areas, as in several areas of Thessaloniki, Agrinio and Xanthi. In particular, in the capital a figure of 15.7 μg/m3 was recorded, and in the area with the highest concentration of suspended particles – Ilion – 21.9 μg/m3.

In Thessaloniki, the most polluted area is Vasiliki – 20.6 μg/m3. In Agrinio, an increased concentration of suspended particles has been recorded for another year – 17.9 μg/m3.

Air pollution causing one in nine deaths worldwiderepresents greatest environmental threat to human health.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is responsible for approximately seven million premature deaths worldwide every year.

A total of 124 (equivalent to 92.5%) of 134 countries and regions exceeded the annual WHO particulate matter guideline of 5 µg/m3. Begusarai, India has become the most polluted metropolis of 2023. India is among the four most polluted cities in the world.
The most polluted large city in the United States was Columbus, Ohio. Beloit, Wisconsin was the most polluted city in the United States.
Las Vegas, Nevada was the cleanest major city in the United States.
For the first time in the report's history, Canada was found to be the most polluted country in North America, with 13 of the region's most polluted cities located within its borders.

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