Egypt’s air quality is still among the world’s worst, but it’s marginally improving, with the country landing in the 12th spot as the most polluted globally in 2024, according to World Air Quality Report (pdf) for 2024 from IQAir, a Swiss company that monitors air quality. It scored 56 on the average air quality index (AQI) and had PM2.5 levels of 39.77 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³), nearly eight times the World Health Organization’s safe limit of 5 µg/m³.

That’s still an improvement from 2023, when Egypt came in ninth place and had an average PM2.5 concentration to record 42.4, signaling early progress toward the country’s Vision 2030 target of halving PM2.5 levels by the end of the decade.

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The methodology: IQAir’s report looks at how many cities around the world met WHO air quality standards in a given year by looking at the average annual concentration of small and hazardous airborne particles known as PM2.5, one of six pollutants monitored and regulated by environmental agencies due to the significant impacts to human health and the environment. The WHO recommends that the average annual PM2.5 readings should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³).

Why does it matter? Poor air quality isn’t just a health issue, but it is also an economic one. The World Bank estimates that the cost of air pollution in the Greater Cairo region alone equals around 1.4% of GDP each year, mainly from lost productivity and higher healthcare costs linked to respiratory and heart diseases.

What’s driving Egypt’s pollution? IQAir attributes Egypt’s pollution to a combination of emissions from vehicles and factories, open burning of waste and agricultural byproducts, natural dust storms, and limited rainfall that would otherwise help clear the air.

What drove the improvement? The improvement in Egypt’s ranking is the result of a combination of expanded monitoring, stricter enforcement, waste control measures, and upgrades in industrial compliance, a senior Environment Ministry source told EnterpriseAM. The state has also intensified efforts to stop practices such as burning rice straw and expanded the national waste management system to prevent informal burning, which contributes heavily to seasonal pollution.

We’ve had a helping hand along the way: The Environment Ministry, alongside the World Bank, are almost done implementing the six-year, USD 200 mn Greater Cairo Air Pollution Management and Climate Change Project, which wraps up next year.

Tighter environmental standards have forced some industrial facilities to shutter operations, the source said, adding that several other factories decided to upgrade their production processes to comply with environmental standards.

Monitoring is expanding: Egypt now operates around 500 environmental monitoring stations, up from 120, allowing for faster detection and response to pollutant spikes, the source noted. According to a ministry study prepared ahead of COP30, these interventions helped prevent 334k tons of carbon emissions last year. The ministry reports that particulate pollution levels in Greater Cairo and the Delta have fallen from 157 micrograms per cubic meter to around 108 micrograms today, with the goal of reducing levels to below 60 micrograms by 2030.

Tree planting also played a significant role stabilizing air quality despite the growing number of vehicles and industrial facilities. Through the 100 mn trees initiative, some 1.5 mn trees have been planted so far, helping offset rising emissions.

The shift toward greener transport is also helping: One of the most impactful initiatives when it comes to improving the country’s air quality is the electric bus program, a senior Environment Ministry source told us, adding that the World Bank-funded project to deploy 100 electric buses in Cairo is expected to cut emissions by around 23%, with expansion underway as part of Egypt’s push for cleaner public transport.

Where do we stand in terms of financing? Egypt has secured USD 4-5 bn in international financing for environmental programs to support air quality improvement initiatives, waste management systems, and pollution mitigation across development sectors. However, one of our sources said that these funds remain insufficient. Global funding for climate and environmental initiatives is still far below required levels, we were previously told.

Are we measuring air quality correctly? Some experts have questioned the reliability of IQAir’s data because it relies heavily on privately installed sensors that may differ from national methodologies. Government officials emphasize that Egypt’s official monitoring system, which has expanded significantly in recent years, follows its own standards. The lack of a unified global methodology for measuring air quality often contributes to discrepancies between official data and third-party rankings.

How does Egypt compare regionally? Egypt continues to rank among the most polluted countries in the region, but several other Middle Eastern nations also record high readings. Saudi Arabia ranked 31st on IQAir’s index, while Bahrain ranked 18th, the UAE 17th, and Iraq 13th.

What’s next? The outlook for Egypt’s air quality depends on whether the gains of the past year become structural. Continued progress will require stronger enforcement of industrial standards, increased adoption of cleaner fuels, more incentives for EVs, deeper investment in monitoring infrastructure, and greater transparency in environmental data. Expanding public transport electrification, accelerating tree planting, and improving pollution monitoring could deliver continued progress. However, without sustained financing and consistent enforcement, Egypt risks experiencing temporary dips in pollution levels rather than long-term, transformative improvement.

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