Breathing in Guangdong is Injurious to Health.

Air pollution threatens the health of 110.1 million people across 21 districts in Guangdong. The average PM2.5 level is 20.8 µg/m³—4.2× higher than the WHO guideline.

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Brought to you by Amrit Sharma

Overview

Air Pollution in Guangdong

Guangdong faces significant air pollution challenges. 100% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 110.1 million across 21 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 20.8µg/m³. That's 4.2 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 345 cigarettes in a year.

Trends

Air Quality Trend

Annual PM2.5 levels from 2014 to 2023. The WHO guideline for safe air is 5 µg/m³.

Health Impact

Life Expectancy Impact

If Guangdong met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 1.55 years longer.

That's 170.6M years of life stolen from 110.1 million people. Years of watching children grow up. Years of building a career. Years of quiet mornings and celebrations.

Lives cut short. Breathing kills.

Most Polluted

Districts with Highest Pollution

The top 10 most polluted districts in Guangdong. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.

  • 1.Foshan
    2.2 years lost
  • 2.Guangzhou
    2.1 years lost
  • 3.Dongguan
    1.9 years lost
  • 4.Zhongshan
    1.7 years lost
  • 5.Shaoguan
    1.6 years lost
  • 6.Zhaoqing
    1.6 years lost
  • 7.Qingyuan
    1.6 years lost
  • 8.Jiangmen
    1.5 years lost
  • 9.Chaozhou
    1.5 years lost
  • 10.Yunfu
    1.5 years lost
Exposure

Population Exposure by Pollution Level

Distribution of population across different PM2.5 pollution levels. The WHO guideline is 5 µg/m³—only populations below this threshold are breathing safe air.

< 5 µg/m³
0%
0
5-10 µg/m³
0%
0
10-15 µg/m³
2.8%
3.1M
15-25 µg/m³
78%
85.8M
25-35 µg/m³
19.2%
21.2M
> 35 µg/m³
0%
0
Districts

All 21 Districts in Guangdong

Complete air quality data for every district in Guangdong, sorted by population.

DistrictPopulationPM2.5 µg/m³Years Lost
Guangzhou13.4M
26.4
2.1 years
Shenzhen10.8M
20.1
1.5 years
Dongguan8.7M
24.1
1.9 years
Foshan7.8M
27.8
2.2 years
Zhanjiang7.3M
17.1
1.2 years
Jieyang6.2M
19.6
1.4 years
Maoming6.2M
17.4
1.2 years
Shantou5.7M
18.8
1.4 years
Huizhou4.8M
17.4
1.2 years
Jiangmen4.7M
20.6
1.5 years
Meizhou4.5M
16.1
1.1 years
Zhaoqing4.1M
21.2
1.6 years
Qingyuan3.9M
20.8
1.6 years
Zhongshan3.3M
22.0
1.7 years
Heyuan3.1M
15.6
1.0 years
Shanwei3.1M
14.4
0.9 years
Shaoguan3.0M
21.7
1.6 years
Chaozhou2.9M
20.4
1.5 years
Yangjiang2.5M
17.0
1.2 years
Yunfu2.5M
20.4
1.5 years
Zhuhai1.6M
18.2
1.3 years

Showing 21 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.