Eurasianet reports that Tajikistan remains the most polluted, according to a recent survey of global air quality.

The 2024 World Air Quality Report, compiled by Swiss-based firm IQAir, reportedly measured air quality at almost 9,000 locations in 138 countries worldwide.  Tajikistan ranked as the sixth most polluted country, in terms of the measured volume of harmful, air-borne particles known as PM2.5.  Chad, Bangladesh and Pakistan were the top three states with the worst air pollution in the survey.

“Air pollution remains the greatest environmental threat to human health,” the report states. “According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 99 percent of the global population lives in areas that do not meet recommended air quality guideline levels.”

Tajikistan’s air quality showed slight improvement in 2024 over the previous year.  A study published by Tajikistan’s State Statistics Agency published in early 2024 found that harmful emissions in the country increased by almost two times during the past decade.  Vehicles, including cars, trucks, busses and agricultural machines, were the primary source of pollution.

Central Asia as a region ranked among the most polluted worldwide, with Uzbekistan ranked as having the 19th worst air quality, followed by Turkmenistan (26th), Kyrgyzstan (41st) and Kazakhstan (71st).  Although Kazakhstan had Central Asia’s cleanest air overall in 2024, the industrial city of Karaganda was rated the third most polluted city in the world, with a PM2.5 measurement exceeding WHO guidelines by over 10 times.

Kyrgyzstan, meanwhile, has made the most progress in reducing the volume of PM2.5 in the air over the past five years.