India’s particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations were at a three-year low, though it still is the sixth most polluted country in the world, according to the World Air Quality Report, a yearly global compilation of air quality by IQAir, a Swiss company that makes air filtration devices.
India’s population-weighted annual average PM2.5 concentration in 2025 was 48.9 µg/m³, a 3% decrease from 2024 (50.6 µg/m³) and a 10% decrease from 2023 (54.4 µg/m³). The 2025 numbers were part of a report—now in its eighth edition—made public on Tuesday (March 24, 2026).
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The population-weighted numbers that IQAir calculates give more weight to the particulate matter numbers from cities with higher population—a metric meant to underline the quality of air that the majority of a country’s population are exposed to.
In 2023, India ranked 3rd globally, behind only Bangladesh and Pakistan. In 2024, it slipped to 5th as Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo entered the rankings with higher concentrations. In the 2025 report, India stands at 6th, now also behind Tajikistan. In the 2025 edition, more countries with high pollution loads and hitherto unmonitored entered the IQAir compilation. There were 143 countries (spanning 9,446 cities) in 2025, up from 134 countries (spanning 7,812 cities) in 2023.
