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, Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) has put together a guide comparing the air pollution levels in some of the world’s top holiday destinations.
The research compares 28 cities in 19 countries including Germany, India, Thailand and the U.S, highlighting their current Air Quality Index (AQI) and temperature in October 2015. The Air Quality Index is based on air pollutants that have adverse effects on human health and the environment therefore travellers should plan carefully if they want to avoid cities with a high level of AQI. Visitors are advised by the World Air Quality Index that if they are travelling to countries where the Air Quality Index is over 151, strenuous exercises or activities should be avoided as the general public may begin to experience health effects due to the high level of pollution.
Holidaymakers heading to the Middle East and Asia should be more cautious about travelling to Dubai in the UAE and Beijing in China as according to the research, Dubai has an Air Quality Index of 222, which is considered as ‘very unhealthy’ and Beijing has an Air Quality Index of 328, considered as ‘hazardous’ for travellers and the environment.
For those planning on visiting Central and South America, including cities such as Lima in Peru and Mexico City in Mexico, they should note that according to the research both cities have an Air Quality Index of ‘Moderate’ with Mexico City measuring 91 and Lima measuring 86.
Luckily for travellers visiting destinations in Europe such as Paris, Venice and Madrid, all three cities showed an Air Quality Index of 46 or below, which is considered as ‘good’ and where air pollution poses little or no risk. In contrast, Amsterdam had an Air Quality Index of 66 and London was 77, both averaging a ‘moderate’ for air pollution level.
The city with the lowest level of pollution was Bangkok, which recorded a figure of 18 AQI, followed by Washington DC AQI of 24 and San Francisco and Madrid, who both recorded a figure of 25. The research showed no correlation between the current temperature of a city and the respective Air Quality Index.
