Why does South Asia have the world’s worst air pollution?

Children play cricket in the smog, as air pollution levels rise in Karachi, Pakistan, in November 2023 [Akhtar Soomro/Reuters]

In 2023, Bangladesh recorded the worst air quality of 134 countries monitored by the Swiss climate group, IQAir. Pakistan and India were close behind, with the report showing that South Asia suffers from the worst pollution in the world overall.

Here are some insights from the report and what it tells us about the South Asian countries’ governments.