13 times above WHO limit: Pakistan emerges as world's smoggiest country

Pakistan has been ranked the world's smoggiest country in 2025, with concentrations of hazardous small particles known as PM2.5 up to 13 times higher than the recommended World Health ​Organization level, according to the IQAir World Air Quality Report, cited in the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26. The report stated that country appeared home to four of the world’s ten most polluted cities. The report said that Faisalabad recorded the highest pollution levels nationally at 98.8 µg/m³, while 13 cities reported PM2.5 concentrations above 50 µg/m³. The survey underscored the scale of the crisis and said that the worsening air quality is driven by industrial emissions, vehicle exhaust, brick kilns and construction dust.

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Seasonal factors further intensify pollution, with levels spiking during dust storms in April and May and rising sharply in Karachi during November, where concentrations increased nearly 57pc compared with 2024. The human toll is severe. “Air pollution has continued to be a significant health issue affecting the population, reportedly causing almost 22,000 deaths every year and also straining ecosystems,” the survey said.

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South Asia's pollution

The world's top 25 ​most polluted cities were ⁠all in India, Pakistan and China. Among the countries that met the standard in 2025 were Australia, Iceland, Estonia and Panama. Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia all reported significant PM2.5 reductions compared to the previous year. Only 14 per cent of the world's cities met the WHO standard in 2025, down from 17 per cent a year earlier, ​with Canadian wildfires driving up PM2.5 across the United States and ​as far ⁠as Europe. In all, 75 countries reported lower PM2.5 levels in 2025 compared to a year ​earlier, with 54 recording higher average concentrations, IQAir said.