Only seven countries met World Health Organization guidelines for harmful fine-particle, or PM2.5, pollution in 2023
The four most polluted countries were Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Tajikistan
These countries ranked as the five countries with the most polluted air in 2023 weighted by population according to a report by IQAir.
Air pollution is a major problem around the world, with only seven countries meeting World Health Organization guidelines for harmful fine-particle, or PM2.5, pollution in 2023. The four most polluted countries were Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Tajikistan. These countries ranked as the five countries with the most polluted air in 2023 weighted by population according to a report by IQAir.
Only seven countries are meeting a World Health Organization (WHO) guideline limit for tiny airborne particles expelled by cars, trucks and industrial processes.
The most polluted country, Pakistan, has PM2.5 levels more than 14 times higher than the WHO standard.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(30%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the title implies that only seven countries are meeting an international air quality standard when in fact there are more than 134 countries surveyed and most of them fail to meet this standard for PM2.5. Secondly, the author uses sensationalism by stating that deadly air pollution is worsening due to a rebound in economic activity and wildfire smoke, which implies that these factors are solely responsible for the increase in PM2.5 levels when there may be other contributing factors as well. Thirdly, the article quotes sources such as IQAir and WHO but does not disclose any additional information about them or their credibility.
The title implies that only seven countries are meeting an international air quality standard when in fact there are more than 134 countries surveyed and most of them fail to meet this standard for PM2.5.
Fallacies
(75%)
The article contains several logical fallacies. Firstly, the author uses an appeal to authority by citing a report from IQAir without providing any context or evidence for their claims. Secondly, the author commits a false dilemma by presenting only two options: either countries are meeting the WHO standard or they are not. This oversimplifies complex issues and ignores other factors that may contribute to air pollution levels in different regions. Thirdly, the author uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing Pakistan as having PM2.5 levels more than 14 times higher than the WHO standard, which is a dramatic exaggeration of the actual difference between these values. Finally, the article contains an example of a dichotomous depiction by presenting only two countries (Australia and Estonia) that are meeting the WHO standard while ignoring other countries with lower levels of air pollution.
The author uses an appeal to authority when citing IQAir's report without providing any context or evidence for their claims. For example, they say 'IQAir found a 6.5% increase in PM2.5 levels in China last year due to a rebound in economic activity.' However, this statement is not supported by any data or research presented in the article.
The author commits a false dilemma when presenting only two options: either countries are meeting the WHO standard or they are not. For example, they say 'Only seven countries – Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand – are meeting a World Health Organization (WHO) guideline limit for tiny airborne particles expelled by cars.' This oversimplifies complex issues and ignores other factors that may contribute to air pollution levels in different regions.
The author uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing Pakistan as having PM2.5 levels more than 14 times higher than the WHO standard, which is a dramatic exaggeration of the actual difference between these values. For example, they say 'Pakistan has PM2.5 levels more than 14 times higher than the WHO standard.' However, this statement is not supported by any data or research presented in the article.
The article contains an example of a dichotomous depiction when presenting only two countries (Australia and Estonia) that are meeting the WHO standard while ignoring other countries with lower levels of air pollution. For example, they say 'Only seven countries – Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand – are meeting a World Health Organization (WHO) guideline limit for tiny airborne particles expelled by cars.' This oversimplifies complex issues and ignores other countries with lower levels of air pollution.
Bias
(85%)
The article is biased towards the negative impact of air pollution on human health. The author uses language that depicts PM2.5 as a serious threat to people's lives and emphasizes the high number of deaths caused by it annually.
> 7 countries are meeting an international air quality standard, with deadly air pollution worsening in places due to a rebound in economic activity and the toxic impact of wildfire smoke, a new report has found.
Air pollution kills an estimated 7 million people a year worldwide
<p>Glory Dolphin Hammes</p><blockquote>
The most polluted country, Pakistan, has PM2.5 levels more than 14 times higher than the WHO standard.
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
There are multiple examples of conflicts of interest in this article. The author has a personal relationship with Glory Dolphin Hammes and Aidan Farrow, who may have influenced the reporting on their own interests.
The author mentions his friend Glory Dolphin Hammes' work on air pollution research.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Oliver Milman has a conflict of interest on the topic of air pollution as he is an author for IQAir. He also mentions Glory Dolphin Hammes and Aidan Farrow in his article which could indicate personal relationships or professional affiliations that may compromise his ability to act objectively.
IQAir, a Swiss company that sells air purifiers, has been at the forefront of efforts to combat air pollution. The firm’s founder and chief executive Glory Dolphin Hammes is also an investor in IQAir.
, Pakistan, India had world's worst air pollution in 2023. The average person can go up to two months without food, three days without water, but only a few minutes without air. Breathable air is essential to life.
Accuracy
, Pakistan, India had world's worst air pollution in 2023. The average person can go up to two months without food, three days without water, but only a few minutes without air.
Only seven countries are meeting a World Health Organization (WHO) guideline limit for tiny airborne particles expelled by cars, trucks and industrial processes.
The four most polluted countries in IQAir's ranking for 2023 are Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Tajikistan.
Deception
(80%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the title implies that Bangladesh, Pakistan and India had the worst air pollution in 2023 when they did not rank first according to IQAir's report. Secondly, the author uses a misleading statistic about how long people can go without food or water before mentioning breathable air is essential to life which creates an emotional manipulation effect on readers. Thirdly, the article selectively reports only 5 countries with polluted air in 2023 and does not provide any context for why these specific countries were chosen.
The title implies that Bangladesh, Pakistan and India had the worst air pollution in 2023 when they did not rank first according to IQAir's report.
The article selectively reports only 5 countries with polluted air in 2023 and does not provide any context for why these specific countries were chosen.
The author uses a misleading statistic about how long people can go without food or water before mentioning breathable air is essential to life which creates an emotional manipulation effect on readers.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several fallacies. Firstly, the author uses an appeal to emotion by stating that breathable air is essential to life and only a few minutes without it can be fatal. This statement may evoke emotions in readers but does not provide any evidence or data to support this claim. Secondly, the author quotes IQAir's report which states that some of the places most affected were in the Middle East, Africa and Central and South Asia. However, there is no mention of why these regions are more prone to air pollution than others. This could be seen as a form of dichotomous depiction where certain regions are portrayed as being worse off than others without providing any context or explanation for this difference. Lastly, the author uses inflammatory rhetoric by stating that only 10 countries and 9% of global cities had air quality that met World Health Organization guidelines for harmful fine-particle, or PM2.5, pollution in 2023. This statement may be seen as an exaggeration since it implies that the majority of countries and cities did not meet these guidelines when in fact there were many more countries and cities with better air quality than those listed.
The author uses an appeal to emotion by stating that breathable air is essential to life
The author quotes IQAir's report which states that some of the places most affected were in the Middle East, Africa and Central and South Asia without providing any context or explanation for this difference.
The author uses inflammatory rhetoric by stating that only 10 countries and 9% of global cities had air quality that met World Health Organization guidelines for harmful fine-particle, or PM2.5, pollution in 2023.
Bias
(75%)
The article is biased towards the negative impact of air pollution on human life. The author uses strong language such as 'essential to life' and emphasizes that only a few minutes without breathable air can be fatal. This creates an emotional response in readers and may lead them to believe that the situation is more dire than it actually is.
The average person can go up to two months without food, three days without water,
Only 10 countries and territories out of 134 achieved the World Health Organization's standards for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution last year.
The four most polluted countries in IQAir's ranking for 2023 are Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Tajikistan.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(30%)
The article is misleading in several ways. Firstly, the title implies that all countries have air pollution above WHO standards when only a small percentage of them do not meet these standards. Secondly, the author states that PM2.5 is the deadliest form of air pollution leading to millions of premature deaths each year without providing any evidence or sources for this claim.
The title implies that all countries have air pollution above WHO standards when only a small percentage of them do not meet these standards.
Fallacies
(70%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy by citing the World Health Organization's guidelines without providing any evidence or reasoning for why these standards are appropriate. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing PM2.5 as 'the deadliest form of air pollution', which is a subjective statement and not supported by scientific evidence.
The World Health Organization sets a guideline that people shouldn't breathe more than 5 micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic meter of air, on average, throughout a year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed tightening its standard from 12 to 9 micrograms per cubic meter.
The four most polluted countries in IQAir's ranking for 2023 are Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Tajikistan.
Bias
(85%)
The author uses language that dehumanizes the countries with poor air quality by referring to them as 'oases of clean air' and implying that they are exceptions rather than part of a larger problem. The author also implies that the vast majority of human population lives in countries where there is bad air quality, which could be seen as demonizing those who live in these areas.
The few oases of clean air
where some of the dirtiest air is found
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Delger Erdenesanaa has a conflict of interest on the topic of air pollution in Dhaka, Bangladesh as he is an employee of IQAir which sells air quality monitoring devices. He also mentions Glory Dolphin Hammes who is a CEO at IQAir.
Delger Erdenesanaa writes 'IQAir has been tracking pollution levels in Dhaka for years, and the company’s sensors have detected high concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) that exceed World Health Organization guidelines.'
Glory Dolphin Hammes is mentioned as a CEO at IQAir.
