Iraq and Bahrain are ranked second and fourth respectively in the list of the world’s most polluted countries by 2022. to study Manufactured by IQ Air, a Swiss company concerned with air purification issues.
The study included data from more than 30,000 air quality monitoring stations at more than 7,000 locations in 131 countries and territories, according to the study released Tuesday.
Chad recorded pollution at 89.7 micrograms per cubic metre, the highest pollution rate in the world and 17 times higher than the standard air cleanliness recommendations set by the World Health Organization at 2.5 particles per cubic metre.
Iraq was second with 80.1 micrograms, followed by Pakistan with 70.9 micrograms, Bahrain with 66.6 micrograms and Bangladesh with 65.8 micrograms.
The study showed that the pollution rate in Iraq almost doubled in 2021 from 49.7 in 2021, and in Bahrain there was a significant increase from 49.8 in 2021.
In 2020, Iraq ranked tenth on the list of most polluted countries, with 39.6 micrograms, according to the website. World Population Survey.
Iraq’s population is currently about 43 million people, and projections indicate that the population will continue to grow, surpassing 100 million people by the end of 2085, at an annual rate of 2.32%, adding less than one million people each year.
The country suffers from severe desertification, lack of vegetation and water scarcity, and in addition, relies on private generators for energy production.
The Ministry of Planning announced on Tuesday that there are about 49,000 electricity generators for the private sector in the country.
These generators usually run on diesel fuel, and each of them produces a large amount of smoke in the atmosphere, in addition to the smoke from cars and the smoke from oil wells that burn large amounts of gas each year.
Six countries met the WHO guidelines: Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland and New Zealand.
Eight of the ten cities with the world’s worst air pollution are in Central and South Asia, the study said
India’s Lahore is the most polluted metropolitan area in 2022, up from 15th in 2021
Eight of the 15 most polluted cities are in Chile.
California is among 10 of the 15 most polluted cities in the United States, while Las Vegas is considered the cleanest major city in the United States.
“Many people around the world don’t know they’re breathing polluted air,” said Aidan Farrow, an air quality scientist at Greenpeace, “and when monitoring is incomplete or inconsistent, vulnerable communities can be left without data to work with.” “.
