APH compares air pollution levels in some of the most popular holiday destinations

According to research published by Nature, over three million people around the world die prematurely each year from outdoor pollution. For those holidaymakers concerned about air quality when travelling abroad, we have commissioned a guide* comparing air pollution levels in some of the world’s top holiday destinations.

The World Air Quality Index advises tourists visiting cities with an Air Quality Index greater than 151 to stay away from physically demanding activities since the high levels of pollution could cause health problems in the general population.

With an Air Quality Index of 172, Mumbai has the highest level of pollution, according to the study.
The ecosystem and travellers are both deemed to be at risk from this high amount of pollution.
Ankara, which has the second-highest pollution levels on the list, has an Air Quality Index of 159, which is regarded to be in unhealthy condition.

Paris (104) and Dubai (117) are among the cities with an Air Quality Index ranging from 101 to 200 that are deemed to have harmful levels of air pollution.

While Berlin and Los Angeles both have an average air pollution level of 61 and 79, respectively, Nice, Rome, and Madrid have good air pollution levels in Europe, all having an Air Quality Index of 41 or below.

Venice, with an Air Quality Index of 0, has the least amount of pollution, followed by Lisbon, with a reading of 4.

COUNTRY	CITY	AIR QUALITY INDEX (AQI)	TEMPERATURE
Australia	Melbourne	17	17°C
	Sydney	14	28°C
Brazil	Sao Paulo	68	22°C
China	Beijing	44	24°C
	Hong Kong	77	25°C
France	Paris	104	16°C
	Nice	41	19°C
Germany	Berlin	61	14°C
India	Mumbai	172	34°C
Italy	Rome	36	25°C
	Venice	0	19°C
Japan	Tokyo	21	18°C
Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	47	28°C
Mexico	Mexico City	85	12°C
Peru	Lima	69	18°C
Portugal	Lisbon	4	22°C
Spain	Barcelona	25	24°C
	Madrid	22	16°C
Thailand	Bangkok	99	27°C
The Netherlands	Amsterdam	24	16°C
Turkey	Istanbul	25	18°C
	Ankara	159	21°C
United Kingdom	London	42	16°C
UAE	Dubai	117	40°C
USA	New York	21	13°C
	Los Angeles	79	16°C
	San Francisco	28	17°C
	Washington	17	9°C

KEY
API	Air Pollution Level
0 – 50	Good
51 – 100	Moderate
101 – 200	Unhealthy
201 – 300	Very unhealthy
301 – 500	Hazardous
500+	Emergency

*The research for the Air Quality Index and temperature in each of the cities in the study was collected for APH between 12pm and 1pm GMT on 19 January 2023 using data available from https://aqicn.org/map/world.