India's Loni Named World's Most Polluted City as Air Quality Report Hits Alarm Levels
Swiss firm IQAir released its 2025 World Air Quality Report on March 24 to reveal that Loni in Uttar Pradesh is now the world's most polluted city and India ranks sixth globally for particulate matter. While New Delhi remains fourth among cities, three other Indian locations—including Byrnihat—also entered the top four global list alongside a country-level ranking where Pakistan holds this distinction with PM concentrations up to 13 times higher than WHO guidelines of less than five micrograms per cubic metre; Loni specifically recorded an average level exceeding one hundred and two...
Key Points
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1India was ranked as one of six most polluted countries globally in IQAir's March 24th World Air Quality Report.
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2Loni city near Ghaziabad has been identified by the report as having an average PM2.5 level exceeding WHO limits, making it the world's most polluted urban area for a third consecutive year (implied context from multiple sources).
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3New Delhi holds fourth place among globally ranked cities with three Indian municipalities appearing in India.
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4While particulate matter concentrations showed improvement compared to previous years at 2019 levels, pollution remains severe across the nation.
Developments
India's Loni was identified as the most polluted city globally while Pakistan ranked highest among countries due to extreme air pollution concentrations according to IQAir's 2024 World Air Quality Report (the text contains contradictory year references, stating both "1975" and "IQAIr report revealed that... in March".)