Every day, I wake up and check the forecast, which includes an air quality report.
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I don’t know why I bother checking the air quality—it’s a bit like picking a scab in a city like Barcelona. With a bustling seaport and an airport that never sleeps, we face industrial-level air pollution daily.
While the city council (ajuntament) is working to minimize the impact of air pollution from cars, buses, and motos, it hasn’t taken a strong stance on the airport or cruise port.
Some days, the air quality report reads ‘poor’, and I spend the day needlessly stressing out about my lungs.
In reality, I don’t have much room to complain or stress. Even though Barcelona is contending with air pollution concerns brought on largely by tourism, the city’s air is much, much cleaner than other tourist hotspots around the world.
According to a study from DIPNDIVE, a scuba-travel platform, multiple tourist hubs around the world are facing intensifying air pollution challenges—and even noise pollution, too.
Using data related to number of annual tourists, average noise levels, air quality index, air pollution rates, water quality, and more, they ranked the world’s ten most polluted cities.
Despite my concerns about my current home in Barcelona, I shouldn’t worry too much. In fact, I was pretty floored to realize the US’s ‘greenest’ state, California, outperforms just about any other region in the world when it comes to air pollution.
Think you can name the world’s most popular tourist spots that have pretty serious air pollution problems?
Worst air pollution at popular tourist destinations
1. Cairo, Egypt
In terms of both noise and air pollution, Cairo comes out ahead of the competition. In fact, the study ranked their total weighted pollution score at 98—which is followed in second place by Los Angeles with a weighted score of only 51.
I think that paints a pretty solid picture of what to expect in Cairo in terms of air quality.
2. Los Angeles, USA
Welcoming just under 50 million visitors a year, I can’t say I’m surprised Los Angeles ranks second on the list. The valley retains harmful particulate matter as a result of its non-stop flights. Though LA faces almost no noise pollution, its air quality is almost just as poor as Cairo.
3. Hong Kong, China
Just like Cairo, Hong Kong struggles with its rates of air pollution and noise pollution. Unfortunately, it’s also high on the list in terms of water pollution, meaning you should avoid tap water when visiting.
4. Bangkok, Thailand
On every trip to Thailand, I’ve noticed a film of haze when heading into the airport—just like I have when flying into Los Angeles.
Though Bangkok has a significantly better air quality index than Los Angeles, its pollution is almost just as bad in terms of particulates. (More particulates = more health problems.)
5. San Diego, USA
It’s not just the air quality you need to worry about in San Diego. This SoCal city is struggling with air quality and particulate concentrations… along with increasing rates of noise pollution and ongoing challenges with water quality.
6. Phuket, Thailand
Similar to San Diego, Phuket has a noise pollution problem. In fact, though much more rural than San Diego, Phuket’s average noise levels are almost just as high.
While Phuket’s air quality is worsening year after year, it’s not the poorest on the list. Instead, the main issue is noise pollution, followed by water quality.
7. Athens, Greece
With exceedingly high rates of air pollution in terms of both quality and particulate levels, Athens is facing ongoing challenges as a popular tourist hub. With average water quality and waste collection rates, Athens ends up on this list thanks to subpar rankings in almost every metric.
8. Cancun, Mexico
Cancun tops the list when it comes to noise pollution—it’s even louder than Cairo. In fact, compared to other locations, it has reasonably good air quality. It’s the area’s high levels of noise and concerns around water quality that make it stand out in terms of pollution.
9. Dubai, UAE
From its air quality to its noise levels to its water quality, Dubai isn’t quite as flashy and upscale as many might think. While it’s not the worst in any of these three categories, it’s also not the best by any stretch of the imagination.
10. San Francisco, USA
San Francisco has some of the worst air quality in the United States—even worse than San Diego. However, thanks to its reasonable noise levels and relatively good water quality, San Francisco ranks last on the list.
