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 328, Beijing 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.
Dubai, which has the second-highest pollution levels on the list, has an Air Quality Index of 222, which is regarded to be in very poor condition.

Ankara (101), Kuala Lumpur (120), Istanbul (135), and Mumbai are among the cities with an Air Quality Index ranging from 101 to 200 that are deemed to have harmful levels of air pollution (155).

While Amsterdam and London both have an average air pollution level of 66 and 77, respectively, Paris, Venice, and Madrid have good air pollution levels in Europe, all having an Air Quality Index of 46 or below.

Bangkok, with an Air Quality Index of 18, has the least amount of pollution, followed by Washington, D.C., with a reading of 24, San Francisco, with a reading of 25, and Madrid, with a reading of 25.

COUNTRY	CITY	AIR QUALITY INDEX (AQI)	TEMPERATURE
Australia	Melbourne	70	17°C
	Sydney	52	28°C
Brazil	Sao Paulo	41	22°C
China	Beijing	328	24°C
	Hong Kong	95	25°C
France	Paris	38	16°C
	Nice	72	19°C
Germany	Berlin	61	14°C
India	Mumbai	155	34°C
Italy	Rome	77	25°C
	Venice	46	19°C
Japan	Tokyo	59	18°C
Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	120	28°C
Mexico	Mexico City	91	12°C
Peru	Lima	86	18°C
Portugal	Lisbon	42	22°C
Spain	Barcelona	41	24°C
	Madrid	25	16°C
Thailand	Bangkok	18	27°C
The Netherlands	Amsterdam	66	16°C
Turkey	Istanbul	135	18°C
	Ankara	101	21°C
United Kingdom	London	77	16°C
UAE	Dubai	222	40°C
USA	New York	28	13°C
	Los Angeles	55	16°C
	San Francisco	25	17°C
	Washington	24	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 6 October 2015 using data available from https://aqicn.org/map/world.