Live ranking · 2,421 cities with a ground station
The most polluted cities in the world Right now, by live air quality (AQI)
Right now, Kasur, Pakistan has the worst air of the 2,421 cities with a live ground-station reading, at AQI 690 (Hazardous, past the top of the 0–500 scale), followed by Arifwala, Pakistan (639) and Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan (616).
Pakistan has 43 of the 100 cities on this list, India 34 and China 16. 100 of them are above 150, unhealthy for everyone.
- cities with a live reading
- 2,421
- of the top 100 over AQI 150, unhealthy for everyone
- 100
- of the top 100 in Pakistan
- 43
- countries in the top 100
- 6
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Each row shows how old its reading is.
Worst air now: Kasur · AQI 690
The 100 most polluted cities right now
| # | City | Country | US AQI | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kasur | Pakistan | Hazardous690 | 56m ago |
| 2 | Arifwala | Pakistan | Hazardous639 | 1h ago |
| 3 | Dera Ghazi Khan | Pakistan | Hazardous616 | 56m ago |
| 4 | Sawai Madhopur | India | Hazardous564 | 1h ago |
| 5 | Sargodha | Pakistan | Hazardous551 | 56m ago |
| 6 | Qadirpur Ran | Pakistan | Hazardous527 | 56m ago |
| 7 | Multan | Pakistan | Hazardous517 | 56m ago |
| 8 | Tonk | India | Hazardous499 | 1h ago |
| 9 | Eminabad | Pakistan | Hazardous469 | 56m ago |
| 10 | Bahawalpur | Pakistan | Hazardous463 | 56m ago |
| 11 | Nankana Sahib | Pakistan | Hazardous461 | 56m ago |
| 12 | Lodhran | Pakistan | Hazardous453 | 56m ago |
| 13 | Muzaffargarh | Pakistan | Hazardous447 | 56m ago |
| 14 | Pattoki | Pakistan | Hazardous419 | 56m ago |
| 15 | Phool Nagar | Pakistan | Hazardous419 | 56m ago |
| 16 | Raja Jang | Pakistan | Hazardous414 | 1h ago |
| 17 | Khurja | India | Hazardous393 | 1h ago |
| 18 | Renala Khurd | Pakistan | Hazardous372 | 1h ago |
| 19 | Okara | Pakistan | Hazardous372 | 1h ago |
| 20 | Hisar | India | Hazardous367 | 1h ago |
| 21 | Kot Radha Kishan | Pakistan | Hazardous340 | 56m ago |
| 22 | Saddiqabad | Pakistan | Hazardous336 | 1h ago |
| 23 | Mathura | India | Hazardous329 | 1h ago |
| 24 | Jhang Sadr | Pakistan | Hazardous322 | 1h ago |
| 25 | Uluberiya | India | Hazardous321 | 1h ago |
| 26 | Chūru | India | Hazardous317 | 1h ago |
| 27 | Jammu | India | Hazardous316 | 56m ago |
| 28 | Suihua | China | Very unhealthy294 | 1h ago |
| 29 | Bhiwadi | India | Very unhealthy283 | 1h ago |
| 30 | Rewāri | India | Very unhealthy283 | 1h ago |
| 31 | Pasrur | Pakistan | Very unhealthy283 | 56m ago |
| 32 | Vihari | Pakistan | Very unhealthy283 | 1h ago |
| 33 | Charsadda | Pakistan | Very unhealthy280 | 56m ago |
| 34 | Shekhupura | Pakistan | Very unhealthy274 | 1h ago |
| 35 | Sonīpat | India | Very unhealthy271 | 1h ago |
| 36 | Kamoke | Pakistan | Very unhealthy270 | 56m ago |
| 37 | Chunian | Pakistan | Very unhealthy270 | 1h ago |
| 38 | Shabqadar | Pakistan | Very unhealthy265 | 56m ago |
| 39 | Gujranwala | Pakistan | Very unhealthy262 | 56m ago |
| 40 | Lahore | Pakistan | Very unhealthy256 | 56m ago |
| 41 | Rahim Yar Khan | Pakistan | Very unhealthy249 | 1h ago |
| 42 | Longfeng | China | Very unhealthy240 | 1h ago |
| 43 | Daqing | China | Very unhealthy240 | 1h ago |
| 44 | Anda | China | Very unhealthy240 | 1h ago |
| 45 | Bharatpur | India | Very unhealthy237 | 1h ago |
| 46 | Bahadurgarh | India | Very unhealthy230 | 1h ago |
| 47 | Janakpur | Nepal | Very unhealthy225 | 56m ago |
| 48 | Hyderabad | Pakistan | Very unhealthy223 | 1h ago |
| 49 | Peshawar | Pakistan | Very unhealthy220 | 56m ago |
| 50 | Gujrat | Pakistan | Very unhealthy217 | 56m ago |
| 51 | Najafgarh | India | Very unhealthy214 | 1h ago |
| 52 | Sirsa | India | Very unhealthy211 | 1h ago |
| 53 | Loni | India | Very unhealthy210 | 1h ago |
| 54 | Gurugram | India | Very unhealthy209 | 1h ago |
| 55 | Muridke | Pakistan | Very unhealthy205 | 1h ago |
| 56 | Qiqihar | China | Very unhealthy205 | 1h ago |
| 57 | Jalalpur Jattan | Pakistan | Very unhealthy204 | 56m ago |
| 58 | Kirāri Sulemānnagar | India | Very unhealthy203 | 1h ago |
| 59 | Bathinda | India | Unhealthy200 | 1h ago |
| 60 | Rajamahendravaram | India | Unhealthy200 | 1h ago |
| 61 | Rānīganj | India | Unhealthy199 | 1h ago |
| 62 | Ghāziābād | India | Unhealthy198 | 1h ago |
| 63 | New Delhi | India | Unhealthy198 | 1h ago |
| 64 | Tongchuan | China | Unhealthy198 | 1h ago |
| 65 | Honggang | China | Unhealthy197 | 1h ago |
| 66 | Sialkot | Pakistan | Unhealthy196 | 56m ago |
| 67 | Sanhe | China | Unhealthy195 | 1h ago |
| 68 | Parung | Indonesia | Unhealthy194 | 56m ago |
| 69 | Cileungsir | Indonesia | Unhealthy194 | 56m ago |
| 70 | Depok | Indonesia | Unhealthy194 | 56m ago |
| 71 | Būndi | India | Unhealthy193 | 1h ago |
| 72 | Sambrial | Pakistan | Unhealthy193 | 56m ago |
| 73 | Faridabad | India | Unhealthy192 | 1h ago |
| 74 | Kaithal | India | Unhealthy191 | 1h ago |
| 75 | Bhālswa Jahangirpur | India | Unhealthy191 | 1h ago |
| 76 | New Mirpur City | Pakistan | Unhealthy190 | 2h ago |
| 77 | Jhelum | Pakistan | Unhealthy190 | 2h ago |
| 78 | Xinyi | China | Unhealthy190 | 1h ago |
| 79 | Khairpur Mir’s | Pakistan | Unhealthy188 | 1h ago |
| 80 | Sukkur | Pakistan | Unhealthy188 | 1h ago |
| 81 | Ulan Bator | Mongolia | Unhealthy188 | 56m ago |
| 82 | Bhiwāni | India | Unhealthy187 | 2h ago |
| 83 | Chak Jhumra | Pakistan | Unhealthy187 | 56m ago |
| 84 | Faisalabad | Pakistan | Unhealthy187 | 56m ago |
| 85 | Tongchuanshi | China | Unhealthy187 | 1h ago |
| 86 | Delhi Cantonment | India | Unhealthy186 | 1h ago |
| 87 | Jhunjhunūn | India | Unhealthy186 | 2h ago |
| 88 | Dingzhou | China | Unhealthy186 | 1h ago |
| 89 | Birgañj | Nepal | Unhealthy186 | 56m ago |
| 90 | Noida | India | Unhealthy185 | 1h ago |
| 91 | Rohtak | India | Unhealthy185 | 1h ago |
| 92 | Biratnagar | Nepal | Unhealthy185 | 56m ago |
| 93 | Wazirabad | Pakistan | Unhealthy184 | 1h ago |
| 94 | Akola | India | Unhealthy182 | 1h ago |
| 95 | Tongzhou | China | Unhealthy182 | 1h ago |
| 96 | Weinan | China | Unhealthy181 | 1h ago |
| 97 | Yuncheng | China | Unhealthy181 | 1h ago |
| 98 | Modīnagar | India | Unhealthy180 | 1h ago |
| 99 | Huinong | China | Unhealthy180 | 1h ago |
| 100 | Wuwei | China | Unhealthy180 | 1h ago |
Countries with the worst air on average
The average current AQI across each country's cities with a live station reading, for countries with at least three.
- 1Pakistan54 citiesAQI 290
- 2Bangladesh9 citiesAQI 152
- 3Nepal10 citiesAQI 144
- 4India219 citiesAQI 141
- 5Bosnia and Herzegovina5 citiesAQI 121
- 6China434 citiesAQI 113
- 7Malawi5 citiesAQI 101
- 8Indonesia41 citiesAQI 101
- 9Nigeria14 citiesAQI 100
- 10Lithuania3 citiesAQI 99
- 11Bulgaria5 citiesAQI 96
- 12Vietnam20 citiesAQI 92
- 13Turkey68 citiesAQI 90
- 14Kazakhstan3 citiesAQI 90
- 15Italy18 citiesAQI 88
Clean-air buying guides
How to protect yourself from polluted air at home
Picked by tested clean-air delivery rate (CADR), noise and running cost, from independent test labels. No brand pays to be listed.
- The best air purifiers for wildfire smoke and smog
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- NIOSH-approved N95 masks for smoke and smog
NIOSH-approved N95 masks and P100 respirators for smog and smoke, and how to get the fit right. Cloth and surgical masks do little against PM2.5.
- The best air purifiers under $200
Good HEPA air purifiers under $200 at the makers' own prices, compared on verified clean air, room size and what the filters cost each year.
- The best air purifiers in Pakistan for smog season
Purifiers you can buy in Pakistan, compared on the clean air they really deliver in smog, with Daraz prices in rupees.
Frequently asked
About this ranking
Which city has the worst air quality in the world right now?
Of the 2,421 cities with a live ground-station reading, Kasur, Pakistan, at a US AQI of 690 (Hazardous). Air quality changes by the hour, so the list moves through the day.
Which country has the worst air quality right now?
Averaged across each country's cities with a live station reading (at least three), Pakistan, at AQI 290, then Bangladesh (152) and Nepal (144). A country average describes its measured cities, not its countryside.
How is this ranking made?
Every city is read on the same US EPA Air Quality Index, from the ground monitoring stations near its center (within 10 km, or 25 km where none is closer; via OpenAQ), and only cities with a current station reading are ranked: 2,421 of the 5,420 in Airleaf's directory right now. Cities without a nearby station show an estimate from the CAMS air-quality model on their own report, but a model can be far off at the extremes, so those estimates aren't ranked against measurements. A city whose station goes quiet drops out rather than topping the list with an old figure.
Why does IQAir or my government show a different number?
Different stations, different averaging and sometimes a different scale. Many governments publish their own index: India's CPCB scale, Malaysia's API (IPU) and Singapore's PSI all read the same air differently from the US AQI, and most average over 24 hours where an app shows the latest hour. Each city's report names its source and the time of the reading.
What does an AQI above 150 mean?
On the US scale, 151–200 is unhealthy for everyone, 201–300 very unhealthy and above 300 hazardous. The scale officially tops out at 500; dense smoke from peat or forest fires can push readings beyond it. At these levels, cut down or avoid time outdoors, keep windows closed, run an air purifier with a HEPA filter if you have one, and wear a well-fitted N95 mask outside. Fine particles (PM2.5) are behind most readings this high.