Uzbekistan among world's 10 most polluted countries for fine PM

Uzbekistan among world's 10 most polluted countries for fine PM

IQAir, an international air quality monitoring company, has published its global 2025 data on pollution from fine particulate matter PM2.5 (particles up to 2.5 microns in diameter). The study included 143 countries. Uzbekistan was placed among the 10 most polluted. Its fine dust concentration was 38.1 micrograms per cubic meter, eight times the level recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Three other Central Asian countries also appeared on the list of the 30 most polluted by this measure. Among its regional neighbors, Kazakhstan posted the best result, coming in 29th. Fine dust levels in Kazakhstan's cities were 23.4 micrograms per cubic meter, four times the WHO standard. Tajikistan recorded the worst figure in Central Asia in 2025, at 57.3 micrograms per cubic meter, ten times the WHO norm. Kyrgyzstan ranked 19th, with pollutant concentrations six times the WHO norm. No data were submitted for Turkmenistan.

Pakistan had the worst air quality in the world, with a concentration ten times the WHO standard, at 67.3 micrograms per cubic meter. According to the source, the five most polluted countries also include Bangladesh (66.1), Tajikistan (57.3), Chad (53.6) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (50.2). These countries are all marked by conditions that have stayed at an extremely poor level in recent years, with high pollution readings.

Economically developed countries in Europe and the United States recorded the best results, with the lowest PM2.5 concentrations. In recent years, many of them have been in the clean zones of the ranking, blue and green, which indicate PM2.5 levels at or below the WHO standard. The island territory of French Polynesia ranked first as the country with the cleanest air, at 1.8 micrograms per cubic meter.