The world's most polluted cities, ranked

53 of 666 measured cities in 42 countries breathed air above the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³ over the last 24 hours. The worst was Gujranwala, Pakistan, at 104.2.

← Gujranwala 104.2 WHO 24-hour guideline
Every ranked city, one column each, worst on the left and Jackson (1.1) among the cleanest on the right. Point at it to read a city; tap to open it.
  1. 1Gujranwalalow-cost sensorsPunjab, Pakistan 104.26.9×
  2. 2Peshawarlow-cost sensorsKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan 81.25.4×
  3. 3Lahorelow-cost sensorsPunjab, Pakistan 69.34.6×
  4. 4Faisalabadlow-cost sensorsPunjab, Pakistan 58.33.9×
  5. 5Multanlow-cost sensorsPunjab, Pakistan 52.53.5×
  6. 6Rawalpindilow-cost sensorsPunjab, Pakistan 44.93.0×
  7. 7Islamabadlow-cost sensorsIslamabad, Pakistan 39.12.6×
  8. 8Bahawalpurlow-cost sensorsPunjab, Pakistan 37.12.5×
  9. 9San Luis PotosíSan Luis Potosí, Mexico 34.22.3×
  10. 10Quezon Citylow-cost sensorsNational Capital Region, Philippines 32.32.2×
  11. 11ChennaiTamil Nadu, India 31.12.1×
  12. 12Kampalalow-cost sensorsCentral Region, Uganda 30.32.0×
  13. 13KikindaVojvodina, Serbia 28.31.9×
  14. 14Quettalow-cost sensorsBalochistan, Pakistan 27.11.8×
  15. 15AostaAosta Valley, Italy 26.71.8×
  16. 16Lagoslow-cost sensorsLagos, Nigeria 25.71.7×
  17. 17CalexicoCalifornia, United States 25.11.7×
  18. 18Karachilow-cost sensorsSindh, Pakistan 25.01.7×
  19. 19Naucalpan de JuárezMéxico, Mexico 23.81.6×
  20. 20BellinzonaTicino, Switzerland 23.21.5×
  21. 21DushanbeDushanbe, Tajikistan 22.71.5×
  22. 22Granite CityIllinois, United States 20.91.4×
  23. 23Los AngelesCalifornia, United States 20.31.4×
  24. 24HanfordCalifornia, United States 19.91.3×
  25. 25TijuanaBaja California, Mexico 19.71.3×
  26. 26SuceavaSuceava, Romania 19.31.3×
  27. 27Istanbullow-cost sensorsIstanbul, Turkey 19.01.3×
  28. 28LudwigsburgBaden-Wurttemberg, Germany 18.21.2×
  29. 28GyálPest County, Hungary 18.21.2×
  30. 30Ciudad NezahualcoyotlMéxico, Mexico 18.11.2×
  31. 31HeilbronnBaden-Wurttemberg, Germany 18.01.2×
  32. 32Banja LukaSrpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina 17.91.2×
  33. 33San DiegoCalifornia, United States 17.71.2×
  34. 34FresnoCalifornia, United States 17.41.2×
  35. 35AnconaThe Marches, Italy 17.31.2×
  36. 35Mexico CityMexico City, Mexico 17.31.2×
  37. 37Evanstonlow-cost sensorsIllinois, United States 17.21.1×
  38. 37WhittierCalifornia, United States 17.21.1×
  39. 39Upper AltonIllinois, United States 17.11.1×
  40. 40KonstanzBaden-Wurttemberg, Germany 16.91.1×
  41. 41East Saint LouisIllinois, United States 16.81.1×
  42. 41ChattanoogaTennessee, United States 16.81.1×
  43. 43Franklin ParkIllinois, United States 16.51.1×
  44. 44Biberach an der RißBaden-Wurttemberg, Germany 16.31.1×
  45. 45FriedrichshafenBaden-Wurttemberg, Germany 16.11.1×
  46. 45PljevljaPljevlja, Montenegro 16.11.1×
  47. 45Lake ElsinoreCalifornia, United States 16.11.1×
  48. 48MontgomeryAlabama, United States 16.01.1×
  49. 49NauenBrandenburg, Germany 15.81.1×
  50. 49MexicaliBaja California, Mexico 15.81.1×
All 666 cities
Good0–9.0
Moderate9.1–35.4
Sensitive groups35.5–55.4
Unhealthy55.5–125.4
Very unhealthy125.5–225.4
Hazardous225.5+

Climbing fastest

Movement shows once the board is a day old.

Cleanest air

Cities with reference monitors only.

What's missing

We rank only cities whose monitor data is published under a licence we can use. Some of the most polluted countries (China, South Korea, Thailand and Turkey among them) don't yet publish such data in a form we can use, so their cities are missing, not clean. Why, and what we're doing about it.

Updated 2026-10-01 18:07 UTC. Values are PM2.5 in µg/m³ (fine particles), the median of each city's monitors.