Nations in Central and Southeast Asia as well as in Eastern and Southern Europe have improved their air quality most since before the pandemic, a newly released report by IQAir among 93 countries and territories has found.
In the five years between 2019 and 2024, average annual air pollution by particles of 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller decreased by more than 30 microgram per cubicmeter of air in Mongolia – rank 1. The country continues to use coal burning stoves even in cities, driving up pollution in the winter, but programs have helped poorer residents switch to electric heating. With this large an improvement, the country even reached the WHO interim goal 3 out of 4,…