Real-time: Top 10 most polluted cities in the world with the worst AQI in 2025

The 2024 World Air Quality Report, published by IQAir, showed that out of 138 countries and regions assessed, 126 (representing 91.3%) exceeded the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) annual guidelines for PM2.5 concentrations. The report highlighted that Central and South Asia host the world’s top seven most polluted cities, with India being home to 13 of the 20 cities as the most polluted.

However, the 2025 World Air Quality Report has yet to be released by IQAir. Meanwhile, the ranking of real-time data for the most polluted major city in the world is displayed on the official IQAir website.

Here are the top 10 most polluted cities in the world with the worst AQI in 2025 as per real-time data (10:20 a.m.):

Note: This is real-time data of IQAir, which is subject to change. To track the changes and more updates, click on the link.

Real-time data of polluted cities in the world by IQAir. Photograph: (IQAir)

The World Air Quality Report is released by Swiss company IQAir, which is a private company founded in 1963. Other than providing a report on global air quality, it is also an air quality technology company, specialised in protection against airborne pollutants, and developing air quality monitoring and air cleaning products.

The company was established by Manfred and Klaus Hammes, who developed an air filtration system for residential coal ovens in Germany to combat the accumulation of black soot on walls behind the ovens.

What Global Air 2024 report say?

According to the State of Global Air 2024 report, air pollution was responsible for approximately 8.1 million deaths globally in 2021, ranking as the second highest risk factor for mortality, including among children under the age of five.

Nearly 90 per cent of these deaths were caused by noncommunicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In 2021 alone, air pollution was linked to over 700,000 deaths in children under five, accounting for 15% of all global deaths in that age group.

Meanwhile, the report also suggests that ambient PM 2.5 levels are decreasing or stabilising in many regions globally. Annually, the average exposures were seen in South Asia, East, West, Central, and Southern Africa; North Africa; and the Middle East. And, eight of the ten countries with the highest PM 2.5 exposures are from Africa, and the remaining two are in the Middle East.