What is the cleanest city in the world by air quality?

Longyearbyen, Svalbard (Norway) ranks as the world's cleanest monitored city with a composite US AQI of 8 and PM2.5 of just 1.9 µg/m³ — well below the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³. Other top contenders include Whitehorse (Canada), Yellowknife (Canada), and remote Pacific island capitals.

What does AQI mean and how is it calculated?

The US AQI (Air Quality Index) converts measured pollutant concentrations into a 0–500 scale. 0–50 is Good (green), 51–100 is Moderate, 101–150 is Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, 151–200 is Unhealthy, and higher values are Very Unhealthy or Hazardous. This site uses a composite AQI calculated as the maximum AQI across PM2.5, PM10, NO2, ozone and CO for each city.

Which continent has the cleanest air overall?

Oceania and North America consistently rank as the continents with the cleanest air quality. Remote Pacific island nations (Palau, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Micronesia) record some of the lowest PM2.5 concentrations on Earth. In North America, cities in Canada's Yukon and Northwest Territories lead the global rankings.

What is a good PM2.5 level to live in?

The WHO 2021 annual guideline for PM2.5 is 5 µg/m³. Cities below this threshold offer the healthiest long-term air for residents. A US AQI of 0–50 (PM2.5 below 9 µg/m³) is classified as Good. For comparison, many European and North American cities with Good AQI average 5–15 µg/m³, while polluted Asian cities can exceed 50–100 µg/m³ annually.

Cleanest Cities in Asia 2026 — Air Quality Rankings

Top 50 Cleanest Cities in Asia by Air Quality

#	City	Continent	AQI	PM2.5
1	Obihiro, Japan	Asia	AQI 30	PM2.5 5 µg/m³
2	Asahikawa, Japan	Asia	AQI 31	PM2.5 5.5 µg/m³
3	Kochi, Japan	Asia	AQI 31	PM2.5 7 µg/m³
4	Tomakomai, Japan	Asia	AQI 31	PM2.5 7.5 µg/m³
5	Kitami, Japan	Asia	AQI 32	PM2.5 5.5 µg/m³
6	Sapporo, Japan	Asia	AQI 32	PM2.5 5.8 µg/m³
7	Nagano, Japan	Asia	AQI 32	PM2.5 7.5 µg/m³
8	Morioka, Japan	Asia	AQI 33	PM2.5 6.5 µg/m³
9	Yamagata, Japan	Asia	AQI 33	PM2.5 8 µg/m³
10	Hualien, Taiwan	Asia	AQI 33	PM2.5 8 µg/m³
11	Abashiri, Japan	Asia	AQI 34	PM2.5 5.5 µg/m³
12	Aomori, Japan	Asia	AQI 34	PM2.5 6.5 µg/m³
13	Taitung, Taiwan	Asia	AQI 35	PM2.5 7 µg/m³
14	Kagoshima, Japan	Asia	AQI 35	PM2.5 8.5 µg/m³
15	Matsuyama, Japan	Asia	AQI 35	PM2.5 8.5 µg/m³
16	Kushiro, Japan	Asia	AQI 36	PM2.5 5 µg/m³
17	Nemuro, Japan	Asia	AQI 36	PM2.5 5.5 µg/m³
18	Rumoi, Japan	Asia	AQI 36	PM2.5 6 µg/m³
19	Wakkanai, Japan	Asia	AQI 37	PM2.5 5 µg/m³
20	Muroran, Japan	Asia	AQI 37	PM2.5 7 µg/m³
21	Niigata, Japan	Asia	AQI 37	PM2.5 7.5 µg/m³
22	Hakodate, Japan	Asia	AQI 38	PM2.5 5.5 µg/m³
23	Akita, Japan	Asia	AQI 38	PM2.5 6.5 µg/m³
24	Naha, Japan	Asia	AQI 38	PM2.5 7.5 µg/m³
25	Shizuoka, Japan	Asia	AQI 38	PM2.5 9 µg/m³
26	Sendai, Japan	Asia	AQI 38	PM2.5 9 µg/m³
27	Nara, Japan	Asia	AQI 38	PM2.5 9 µg/m³
28	Tokushima, Japan	Asia	AQI 38	PM2.5 9 µg/m³
29	Kanazawa, Japan	Asia	AQI 38	PM2.5 9 µg/m³
30	Yamaguchi, Japan	Asia	AQI 39	PM2.5 9 µg/m³
31	Kumamoto, Japan	Asia	AQI 40	PM2.5 9.5 µg/m³
32	Nagasaki, Japan	Asia	AQI 40	PM2.5 9.5 µg/m³
33	Hiroshima, Japan	Asia	AQI 40	PM2.5 9.5 µg/m³
34	Kyoto, Japan	Asia	AQI 40	PM2.5 9.5 µg/m³
35	Tottori, Japan	Asia	AQI 40	PM2.5 9.5 µg/m³
36	Puerto Princesa, Philippines	Asia	AQI 40	PM2.5 9.5 µg/m³
37	Koh Phangan, Thailand	Asia	AQI 40	PM2.5 9.5 µg/m³
38	Malé, Maldives	Asia	AQI 40	PM2.5 9.5 µg/m³
39	Miyazaki, Japan	Asia	AQI 42	PM2.5 8.5 µg/m³
40	Matsue, Japan	Asia	AQI 42	PM2.5 8.5 µg/m³
41	Takamatsu, Japan	Asia	AQI 42	PM2.5 10 µg/m³
42	Yokohama, Japan	Asia	AQI 42	PM2.5 10 µg/m³
43	Jeju, South Korea	Asia	AQI 42	PM2.5 10 µg/m³
44	Tokyo, Japan	Asia	AQI 44	PM2.5 10.5 µg/m³
45	Saitama, Japan	Asia	AQI 44	PM2.5 10.5 µg/m³
46	Kobe, Japan	Asia	AQI 44	PM2.5 10.5 µg/m³
47	Cagayan de Oro, Philippines	Asia	AQI 44	PM2.5 10.5 µg/m³
48	Manado, Indonesia	Asia	AQI 44	PM2.5 10.5 µg/m³
49	Krabi, Thailand	Asia	AQI 46	PM2.5 11 µg/m³
50	General Santos, Philippines	Asia	AQI 46	PM2.5 11 µg/m³