MapMaster 3

The map shows urban air quality in terms of micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter of air. For the purposes of this description, the five categories on the map are simplified to less 80 micrograms per cubic meter; between 80 and 200 micrograms per cubic meter; and more than 200 micrograms per cubic meter. In North America, there are several areas with multiple locations where air quality is less than 80 micrograms: in Canada, near Vancouver, British Columbia; in Alberta; and in southern Ontario and Quebec near the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. In the United States, areas with air pollution in this range occur in mainly in California and in the Midwest and Northeast. A few scattered locations in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean (Jamaica) also have pollution in this range. In South America, air quality less than 80 micrograms per cubic meter occurs in widely scattered locations, such as Caracas, Venezuela; Colombia; Ecuador; Bolivia; northern and central Chile; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and north of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Most of Western and Central Europe have air pollution of less than 80 micrograms per cubic meter. Exceptions include Ireland, Portugal, and Scandinavia. (In Russia, air pollution is at this level in Moscow, but east of the Urals in Siberia, there are also sites that are more polluted—between 80 and 200 micrograms. Africa has relatively little air pollution of this type, areas less than 80 micrograms include Liberia, Tanzania, Madagascar, and South Africa (the area around Johannesburg). In Southwest Asia, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, and Cyprus have multiple sites less than 80 micrograms per cubic meter. However, Iran and the Persian Gulf states (Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates) have multiple sites between 80 and 200 micrograms, and Iraq and Bahrain have sites that are higher than 200 micrograms. Apart from Kabul, Afghanistan, which is higher than 200 micrograms per cubic meter, there are no countries in Central Asia that have poor urban air quality according to the criteria used here. In northern Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, there are cities with poor urban air quality—ranging from 80 to more than 200 micrograms per cubic meter. In southern India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, pollution levels range from below 80 up to 200 micrograms per cubic meter. In Southeast Asia, pollution in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Indonesia is generally less than 80 micrograms, except in the northern Philippines, where it is between 80 and 200. In the cities of southern and western China, pollution is less than 80 micrograms per cubic meter, except in far western Urumqi, which is between 80 and 200 micrograms. In eastern and northern China urban air pollution increases to between 80 and 200 micrograms. Mongolia has a few locations less than 80 micrograms per cubic meter and others between 80 and 200 micrograms. South Korea has numerous cities with pollution less than 80, whereas in Japan, Tokyo is the only city in this category. In Oceania, only New Zealand is identified as having poor urban air quality, with two locations on the South Island less than 80 micrograms per cubic meter.