Breathing in West Bank is Injurious to Health.

Air pollution threatens the health of 3.2 million people across 11 districts in West Bank. The average PM2.5 level is 12.8 µg/m³—2.6× higher than the WHO guideline.

Brought to you by Amrit Sharma

Air Pollution in West Bank

West Bank faces significant air pollution challenges. 100% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 3.2 million across 11 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 12.8µg/m³. That's 2.6 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 212 cigarettes in a year.

Air Quality Trend

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

Life Expectancy Impact

If West Bank met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 0.77 years longer.

That's 2.4M years of life stolen from 3.2 million people. Years of watching children grow up. Years of building a career. Years of quiet mornings and celebrations.

Lives cut short. Breathing kills.

Districts with Highest Pollution

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

  • 1.Jericho
    1 years lost
  • 2.Jerusalem
    0.9 years lost
  • 3.Tubas
    0.8 years lost
  • 4.Tulkarm
    0.8 years lost
  • 5.Bethlehem
    0.8 years lost
  • 6.Jenin
    0.8 years lost
  • 7.Qalqilya
    0.8 years lost
  • 8.Nablus
    0.8 years lost
  • 9.Hebron
    0.7 years lost
  • 10.Salfit
    0.7 years lost

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
98.3%
3.1M
15-25 µg/m³
1.7%
53K
25-35 µg/m³
0%
0
> 35 µg/m³
0%
0

All 11 Districts in West Bank

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

DistrictPopulationPM2.5 µg/m³Years Lost
Hebron788K
12.3
0.7 years
Jerusalem466K
13.8
0.9 years
Nablus410K
12.7
0.8 years
Ramallah and Al-Bireh359K
11.6
0.6 years
Jenin348K
13.2
0.8 years
Bethlehem227K
13.3
0.8 years
Tulkarm216K
13.3
0.8 years
Qalqilya148K
13.1
0.8 years
Salfit84K
12.0
0.7 years
Tubas59K
13.7
0.8 years
Jericho53K
15.4
1.0 years

Showing 11 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.