Breathing in Irkutsk is Injurious to Health.

Air pollution threatens the health of 2.3 million people across 47 districts in Irkutsk. The average PM2.5 level is 8.7 µg/m³—1.7× higher than the WHO guideline.

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Overview

Air Pollution in Irkutsk

Irkutsk faces significant air pollution challenges. 96% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 2.3 million across 47 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 8.7µg/m³. That's 1.7 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 144 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 Irkutsk met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 0.37 years longer.

That's 868K years of life stolen from 2.3 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 Irkutsk. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.

  • 1.Irkutsk
    0.5 years lost
  • 2.Irkutskiy rayon
    0.5 years lost
  • 3.Angarskiy rayon
    0.5 years lost
  • 4.Shelekhov
    0.4 years lost
  • 5.Angarsk
    0.4 years lost
  • 6.Slyudyanskiy rayon
    0.4 years lost
  • 7.Usol'e-Sibirskoye
    0.4 years lost
  • 8.Zhigalovskiy rayon
    0.4 years lost
  • 9.Water body
    0.4 years lost
  • 10.Usol'skiy rayon
    0.4 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
1%
22K
5-10 µg/m³
99%
2.3M
10-15 µg/m³
0%
0
15-25 µg/m³
0%
0
25-35 µg/m³
0%
0
> 35 µg/m³
0%
0
Districts

All 47 Districts in Irkutsk

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

DistrictPopulationPM2.5 µg/m³Years Lost
Irkutskiy rayon671K
9.9
0.5 years
Bratskiy rayon284K
8.3
0.3 years
Angarskiy rayon192K
9.7
0.5 years
Ust'-Ilimskiy rayon102K
6.8
0.2 years
Irkutsk87K
9.9
0.5 years
Ziminskiy rayon84K
8.1
0.3 years
Tayshetskiy rayon76K
7.6
0.3 years
Cheremkhovskiy rayon74K
8.1
0.3 years
Usol'skiy rayon72K
9.0
0.4 years
Tulunskiy rayon69K
7.1
0.2 years
Nizhneudinskiy rayon60K
7.5
0.2 years
Ust'-Kutskiy rayon53K
8.2
0.3 years
Nizhneilimskiy rayon51K
7.6
0.3 years
Usol'e-Sibirskoye48K
9.2
0.4 years
Bokhanskiy rayon43K
8.1
0.3 years
Chunskiy rayon35K
8.1
0.3 years
Slyudyanskiy rayon32K
9.3
0.4 years
Kuytunskiy rayon30K
7.5
0.2 years
Ekhirit-Bulagatskiy rayon29K
8.8
0.4 years
Zalarinskiy rayon24K
7.9
0.3 years
Bodaybinskiy rayon22K
5.0
0.0 years
Osinskiy rayon22K
8.2
0.3 years
Ust'-Udinskiy rayon21K
7.5
0.2 years
Kirenskiy rayon20K
7.9
0.3 years
Alarskiy rayon19K
8.0
0.3 years
Kazachinsko-Lenskiy rayon18K
7.3
0.2 years
Kachugskiy rayon17K
8.8
0.4 years
Water body15K
9.1
0.4 years
Nukutskiy rayon15K
8.0
0.3 years
Bayandayevskiy rayon13K
8.5
0.3 years
Zhigalovskiy rayon9K
9.1
0.4 years
Bratsk9K
8.6
0.3 years
Ol'khonskiy rayon8K
8.4
0.3 years
Nizhneudinsk7K
7.6
0.3 years
Mamsko-Chuyskiy rayon5K
5.2
0.0 years
Shelekhov4K
9.5
0.4 years
Katangskiy rayon3K
5.3
0.0 years
Balaganskiy rayon2K
8.3
0.3 years
Cheremkhovo679
8.1
0.3 years
Sayansk376
8.1
0.3 years
Tayshet362
7.7
0.3 years
Angarsk135
9.5
0.4 years
Ust'-Ilimsk43
6.9
0.2 years
Zima28
8.0
0.3 years
Ust'-Kut12
7.6
0.3 years
Tulun4
6.5
0.2 years
Bodaybo0
0.0
0.0 years

Showing 47 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.