According to the newly-published 2022 World Air Quality Report, Denmark’s air quality has been deemed unhealthy.
Compiled by IQ Air, the report revealed that fine particle concentrations in Denmark are rated one to two times higher than WHO guidelines – which recommend an average of 5 micrograms per cubic metre or less.
Worst in the Nordics
Denmark ranked last in the Nordics with a particle concentration of 8.6 micrograms per cubic metre, trailing Iceland (3.4), Finland (5.0), Sweden (6.2) and Norway (7.0).
A similar trend was seen in the cities, with Copenhagen, Aarhus and Viborg faring worse than Reykjavik, Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo.
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Not bad comparatively, though
To be fair, only six countries in the world – Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland and New Zealand – have air quality that lives up to WHO standards.
The silver lining is that Denmark ranks 11th in Europe and in the top 25 in the world, so it scores better than most.
Things are improving
According to Zorana Jovanovic Andersen, a professor of public health at the University of Copenhagen, things have improved.
“We’ve achieved solid reductions in air pollution over the past 20 years. But now we have better knowledge about how dangerous air pollution is,” Andersen told TV2 News.
“We must continue down the same path we’ve been on and we will manage it. It’s down to limiting the use of fossil fuels.”
Chad the worst
The report, based on data sourced from over 30,000 air quality monitoring stations and sensors in more than 7,300 cities worldwide, revealed that Africa, the Middle East and Asia had particularly high fine particle levels.
Chad topped the list with 89.7 μg/m³, followed by Iraq, Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Kuwait, India and Egypt.
