Bangkok is the best big city for your lungs compared with others such as Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Sydney.
As more than three million people around the world die prematurely each year from outdoor pollution, research from Airport Parking and Hotels published by Nature discovered Bangkok has the lowest amount of air pollution of 28 cities in 19 surveyed popular holiday countries and received a score of “good,” writes Andrew Batt in Dot Property.
The research compared the cities and their Air Quality Index (AQI) and temperature during October 2015, based on air pollutants that have adverse effects on human health and the environment.
Visitors are advised by the World Air Quality Index that if they are travelling to countries where the AQI is over 151, they should avoid strenuous exercises or activities as they may experience damaging health effects due to the high level of pollution.
Dubai recorded an Air Quality Index of 222, which is considered to be “very unhealthy” while Beijing had an Air Quality Index of 328 – considered as “hazardous” for travellers and the environment.
The city with the lowest level of pollution was Bangkok, which recorded a figure of 18 AQI, followed by Washington DC’s 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.
The surveyed cities also included Melbourne, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong, Paris, Nice, Berlin, Mumbai, Rome, Venice, Kuala Lumpur, Mexico City, Lima, Lisbon, Barcelona, Istanbul, Ankara, London, New York.
