which city has the worst air quality

The city with the worst air quality in recent global rankings is Byrnihat in India , which has been reported to have the highest average fine-particulate (PM2.5) levels among monitored towns and cities worldwide, exceeding 120 µg/m³ in recent data.

Quick Scoop

• Worst overall air: Byrnihat, India, currently stands out as having the most polluted air (PM2.5) among measured cities and towns globally in recent datasets.

• Most polluted capital city: N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, is listed as the capital city with the dirtiest air, with annual PM2.5 around the 90+ µg/m³ range.

• Other severely polluted cities: Several cities in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh frequently appear near the top of “worst air” lists, reflecting heavy traffic, industry, and often unfavorable geography that traps smog.

Why “worst air quality” is tricky

“Which city has the worst air quality?” can change depending on:

• Metric used:
  • Annual average PM2.5 (fine particles) is the most common and is what puts Byrnihat at the top.

* Short-term AQI spikes (for example during wildfires) can temporarily make other cities “worst” on a given day.

• Type of ranking:
  • Some lists focus only on capital cities (where N’Djamena leads).

* Others look at all cities or even smaller towns, which is where Byrnihat ranks as having the worst average air.

Because of these differences, headlines and forum discussions often mention different “worst” cities (for example, Delhi or Lahore) even when more recent, narrowly focused datasets identify smaller hotspots like Byrnihat.

Recent trending context

• Reports through late 2024 and 2025 highlight a persistent cluster of extremely polluted cities in South Asia, driven by a mix of vehicle emissions, coal use, industry, crop burning, and stagnant winter air.

• At the same time, real‑time AQI maps often show episodic extremes in places affected by wildfires or dust storms, which can briefly push other cities to the top of daily “worst air in the world right now” lists.

In forum discussions and “latest news” style rankings, you will often see cities like Delhi, Lahore, and Dhaka debated as having the “worst air,” but the latest fine‑particle averages point to Byrnihat as the current outlier at the global level.

TL;DR:
On long-term average data, Byrnihat (India) is currently the city with the worst measured air quality, while N’Djamena (Chad) is often cited as the most polluted capital city; daily “worst city” headlines can still shift with weather, fires, and seasonal smog.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.