All but one of the world’s top 20 most polluted cities last year were in Asia, a new study shows.

The majority of these cities – 13 – are in the world’s most populous country, India, where booming economic growth is fired largely by coal and where hundreds of millions live in traffic-clogged and congested megacities.

Another four are in neighboring Pakistan, with one in China and Kazakhstan respectively.

The only city outside of Asia featured on the list is N’Djamena, the capital of Chad in central Africa – which was named the country with the worst air pollution.

Meanwhile the cities with the worst pollution in North America were all in California.

The report by IQAir, a Swiss company that tracks global air quality, looked specifically at fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, one of the smallest but most dangerous pollutants.

PM2.5 comes from sources like the combustion of fossil fuels, dust storms and wildfires. It is so tiny – 1/20th of a width of a human hair – that it can travel past your body’s usual defenses into your lungs or bloodstream.

The particles cause irritation and inflammation and have been linked to respiratory problems and chronic kidney disease. Exposure can cause cancer, stroke or heart attacks and has been associated with a higher risk of depression and anxiety.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says average annual levels of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter.

Byrnihat, an industrial town in northeast India recorded a PM2.5 concentration of 128.2 last year – more than 25 times the WHO’s standard.

She blamed factories around the town and a booming construction industry and trees being felled as contributing to the toxic air.

“The pollution is particularly bad right now, visibility is not great, there is dust everywhere, my eyes also burn,” she said.

“I do not leave home without a mask.”

Twelve other cities in the top 20 are in India.

Its capital New Delhi featured as the world’s most polluted capital for the sixth consecutive year, with a PM2.5 concentration of 91.8. The report also listed six satellite cities – Faridabad, Loni, Delhi, Gurugram, Noida and Greater Noida – making the list.

Just last November, a throat-searing blanket of smog settled over Delhi, disrupting flights, blocking buildings from view and prompting the city’s chief minister to declare a “medical emergency.”

But overall, India – the world’s most populous nation with 1.4 billion people dropped from third to fifth place from the previous year, according to the report.

But the report said air pollution “remains a significant health burden… reducing life expectancy by an estimated 5.2 years.”

India’s neighbors Bangladesh and Pakistan – together home to some 400 million people – were second and third-most polluted countries globally in terms of PM2.5 molecules, according to the report.

China – which used to dominate global rankings of the world’s worst air – noted a small improvement, the report said.

Its national annual average PM2.5 concentration decreased from 32.5 micrograms per cubic meter to 31, with air quality improving in megacities like Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the report said.

China is the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitter but in recent years has waged a campaign against air pollution, particularly in the cities that have fuelled its economic growth, and has pushed a massive expansion in solar and wind power.

But last month two clean-energy groups raised alarm over what they said were plans by China’s power industry to build nearly 100 gigawatts of new coal plant capacity last year, the most in nearly a decade.

All 20 of the world’s most polluted cities last year exceeded WHO PM2.5 guidelines by over 10 times, the IQ Air report showed.

Data gaps

“Air pollution remains a critical threat to both human health and environmental stability, yet vast populations remain unaware of their exposure levels,” said Frank Hammes, Global CEO of IQAir.

Iran and Afghanistan did not feature in this year’s report due to a lack of data availability.

Air quality monitoring in Southeast Asia is also a problem, with nearly all countries having “significant gaps in government-led initiatives,” the report found.

In 2024, 173 out of 392 cities in the region lacked government monitoring stations, while Cambodia had none, it said.

Those problems are likely to be exacerbated after the US announced earlier this month that it would stop sharing air quality data gathered from its embassies and consulates worldwide due to “funding constraints” the Associated Press reported.

“Air quality data saves lives,” said Hammes.

“It creates much needed awareness, informs policy decisions, guiding public health interventions, and empowers communities to take action to reduce air pollution and protect future generations.”

Worst cities in North America

Only 17% of 8,954 cities analyzed globally by IQAir recorded air quality which met WHO pollution guidelines, the report said.

The cities with the worst air pollution in North America were Ontario, Bloomington and Huntington Park – all in California, the report said.

Overall the United States saw a significant reduction in PM2.5 levels last year, with the annual average dropping 22% from 2023.

Northern America has long boasted vigorous air quality monitoring systems, contributing 56% of the total number of ground-based air quality monitoring stations included in the IQ Air report – helping scientists with their continued research on air quality and aiding policymakers to make decisions about public health.

Only 12 countries, regions, and territories recorded PM2.5 concentrations below the WHO guidelines, most of which were in the Latin America and Caribbean or Oceania region.

The report called on governments to dedicate funding for renewable energy projects and “strengthen emission limits for vehicles and industrial activities.”

Advice Suman wishes authorities in Byrnihat would take to save her city from appearing at the top of the most polluted list again next year.

“This is my birthplace. I am a local. I do not want to leave this area. We want the governments to do more, come together and work for us.”

Elections in Greenland, an island home to about 57,000 people, are usually a local affair.

There is little opinion polling, with only two newspapers in the Danish autonomous territory. Greenlanders mull over politics in private Facebook groups, with key issues in the past centering on the economy, mining, fishing law and of course, its relationship and history with Denmark.

But as Greenlanders head to the polls on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump’s idea to annex the nation has thrown this year’s elections into the international spotlight.

Speaking about Greenland in his speech to Congress last week, Trump said, “I think we’re going to get it one way or the other” – reigniting fears of the United States attempting to take the island by force or economic coercion.

Greenland’s pro-independence Prime Minister Mute Egede responded: “We are not for sale and cannot simply be taken.”

“We don’t want to be Americans, nor Danes; We are Kalaallit (Greenlanders),” Egede said. “The Americans and their leader must understand that.”

In fact, all five parties in Greenland’s parliament have said they do not want the territory to become part of the United States. Their key divisions center more on economic, social and environmental policy than Trump’s pronouncements.

The dominant parties on Greenland’s political spectrum all agree on the desire for independence, with many parties, including Egede’s ruling democratic socialist party Inuit Ataqatigiit, viewing it as a long-term project, requiring years of negotiation with Denmark and further economic improvement.

Denmark ruled Greenland as a colony until 1953, when the island achieved greater powers of self-governance. Then, in 2009, it gained more powers pertaining to minerals, policing and courts of law. But Denmark still controls security, defense, foreign and monetary policy. Greenland also benefits from Denmark’s European Union and NATO memberships.

It is an open question what Greenland’s future security will look like if it votes to break away. Some politicians have floated establishing a post-independence defense treaty with Denmark, Canada, or even the United States, which already has a military base in the Arctic Circle in far northwest Greenland.

The island’s future security is especially important as Russia and China vie for greater influence in the Arctic.

Speeding up independence movement

In almost every election in recent years, politicians have promised to take steps to achieve autonomy. None of them have offered a concrete timeline, though.

But Trump’s aggressive stance has actually given the Arctic nation more bargaining power with Denmark, analysts say, and kicked the independence movement into high gear.

Independence isn’t on the ballot for Tuesday’s election, but the other partner in Greenland’s two-party government coalition, the Siumut party, has said it plans to hold a referendum on independence within the next election period. The main opposition party, Naleraq, has campaigned to sever ties with Denmark more quickly and wants to pursue a defense agreement with the US.

Greenland holds elections every four years, with 31 seats in parliament at stake.

Without reliable election polling, analysts hesitate to predict if Egede’s ruling left-wing coalition will win again.

“Whatever the outcome is going to be, there will be speed, there will be turbo on the issue of independence,” Noa Redington, an analyst and former adviser to previous Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, told Reuters news.

Greenlandic social media influencer and candidate for Naleraq, Qupanuk Olsen, told Reuters: “I strongly believe all this interest from Trump and the rest of the world is definitely speeding up our independence process times 100.”

Meanwhile, amid the influx of international attention, Greenland’s parliament last month outlawed political donations from foreign individuals and anonymous donors.

Danish intelligence services have announced they are actively monitoring attempts by foreign powers to interfere in the elections, citing China, Russia and the United States as potential tampering powers.

With multiple issues at play, “it has never been so important to mark a ballot,” wrote journalist Tôrtia Reimer-Johansen for the nation’s weekly newspaper Sermitsiaq.

‘Greenlanders have felt trapped’

A key issue is how full independence could be achieved and whether it’s economically viable, given that Greenland receives roughly 20% of its annual GDP from a Danish block grant every year – more than $500 million. That’s about half the island’s public budget.

Greenlanders also have Danish passports, healthcare and other Nordic welfare state benefits.

Analysts say any independence referendum would likely take years to implement and require lengthy exit-deal negotiations.

“Greenlanders have felt trapped, not just constitutionally, but also in terms of any kinds of relation, particularly economic relations,” said Ulrik Pram Gad, a senior researcher focused on Greenlandic-Danish relations at the Danish Institute for International Studies.

While Greenlandic politicians have repeatedly signaled that they’re uninterested in annexation, they are open to deals with the United States for rare earth mining, expanding tourism, stronger diplomatic connections and other investments.

Trump said in a social media post on Sunday: “We are ready to INVEST BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to create new jobs and MAKE YOU RICH,” he added, inviting Greenland to become “a part of” the United States.

Greenland is rich in oil and gas, as well as the rare earth metals in high demand for electric cars, wind turbines and manufacturing military equipment.

“They’re really eager to get someone digging, but they want to be sure to have a piece of the cake,” Gad added.

“Under the current Danish constitution and the self-government act, Greenland is in charge of minerals. They can dig up and export whatever that they want, but Denmark is in charge of security. That is kind of a stalemate, in the sense that, if you dig up something which is a security problem, who’s then to decide?” he said.

Security far from the only issue

Beyond security and foreign policy issues, Nuuk’s relationship with Copenhagen has also been fraught with allegations of historical misconduct and colonial oppression of the indigenous Inuit Greenlandic people.

The nation has been rocked in recent years by a birth control scandal, after it came to light that Denmark fitted many Greenlandic girls with an intrauterine device (IUD) in the 1960s and 70s without girls’ or their parents’ permission, as a means of population control. Prime Minister Egede recently called the birth control campaign “a genocide.”

And this election cycle has also exposed frustration over allegations that Denmark profited off a large cryolite mine on Greenland’s west coast from 1854 until 1987 – exploiting the area without benefiting locals.

A University of Greenland opinion survey conducted in spring 2024 – months before Trump floated ideas to control the island – found that more people saw the security threat as high compared to 2021. The survey also illuminated views on Greenland’s desire for greater international cooperation, with locals saying their preferred partners were Iceland, Canada and the Arctic Council.

Even still, people surveyed in 2024 said the biggest challenges for Greenland were the economic situation, cost of living and unemployment.

Those views have almost assuredly shifted in 2025, as Trump argues that controlling Greenland is vital for US national security and refuses to rule out using military force.

But the election is inherently unpredictable. The key issues on Greenlander’s minds may only become clear when results begin to trickle out of local polling stations in the early hours of Wednesday.

The Dalai Lama’s successor will be born outside China, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism says in a new book, raising the stakes in a dispute with Beijing over control of the Himalayan region he fled more than six decades ago.

Tibetans worldwide want the institution of the Dalai Lama to continue after the 89-year-old’s death, he writes in “Voice for the Voiceless,” which was reviewed by Reuters and is being released on Tuesday.

He had previously said the line of spiritual leaders might end with him.

His book marks the first time the Dalai Lama has specified that his successor would be born in the “free world,” which he describes as outside China. He has previously said only that he could reincarnate outside Tibet, possibly in India where he lives in exile.

“Since the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world so that the traditional mission of the Dalai Lama – that is, to be the voice for universal compassion, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and the symbol of Tibet embodying the aspirations of the Tibetan people – will continue,” the Dalai Lama writes.

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, fled at the age of 23 to India with thousands of other Tibetans in 1959 after a failed uprising against the rule of Mao Zedong’s Communists.

Beijing insists it will choose his successor, but the Dalai Lama has said any successor named by China would not be respected.

China brands the Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for keeping alive the Tibetan cause, as a “separatist.”

When asked about the book at a press briefing on Monday, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said the Dalai Lama “is a political exile who is engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion.

“On the Tibet issue, China’s position is consistent and clear. What the Dalai Lama says and does cannot change the objective fact of Tibet’s prosperity and development.”

‘Increasingly unlikely’ to return to Tibet

Beijing said last month it hoped the Dalai Lama would “return to the right path” and that it was open to discussing his future if he met such conditions as recognizing that Tibet and Taiwan are inalienable parts of China, whose sole legal government is that of the People’s Republic of China. That proposal has been rejected by the Tibetan parliament-in-exile in India.

Supporters of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan cause include Richard Gere, a follower of Tibetan Buddhism, and Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the US House of Representatives.

His followers have been worried about his health, especially after knee surgery last year. He told Reuters in December that he might live to be 110.

In his book, the Dalai Lama says he has received numerous petitions for more than a decade from a wide spectrum of Tibetan people, including senior monks and Tibetans living in Tibet and outside, “uniformly asking me to ensure that the Dalai Lama lineage be continued.”

Tibetan tradition holds that the soul of a senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death. The current Dalai Lama was identified as the reincarnation of his predecessor when he was two.

The book, which the Dalai Lama calls an account of his dealings with Chinese leaders over seven decades, is being published on Tuesday in the United States by William Morrow and in Britain by HarperNonFiction, with HarperCollins publications to follow in India and other countries.

The Dalai Lama, who has said he will release details about his succession around his 90th birthday in July, writes that his homeland remains “in the grip of repressive Communist Chinese rule” and that the campaign for the freedom of the Tibetan people will continue “no matter what,” even after his death.

He expressed faith in the Tibetan government and parliament-in-exile, based with him in India’s Himalayan city of Dharamshala, to carry on the political work for the Tibetan cause.

“The right of the Tibetan people to be the custodians of their own homeland cannot be indefinitely denied, nor can their aspiration for freedom be crushed forever through oppression,” he writes. “One clear lesson we know from history is this: if you keep people permanently unhappy, you cannot have a stable society.”

Given his advanced age, he writes, his hopes of going back to Tibet look “increasingly unlikely.”

Editor’s Note: Jonathan Todres is Catherine C. Henson professor of law at Georgia State University. He is the author of numerous publications on children’s rights and human trafficking, and he regularly advises organizations working on these issues. The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

In an era of often-deep political divide, human trafficking should be one issue where there is consensus. Indeed, the vast majority of us recognize that human trafficking and forced labor are human rights violations that must not be tolerated. Yet millions of children today are exploited in forced labor. Instead of attending school, they work in hazardous conditions in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, construction, fishing, and other sectors. While we need to be innovative in addressing such exploitation, a key pillar of any solution already exists in communities across the globe: education.

Education is a foundational human right that has been recognized since the beginnings of the modern international human rights movement following World War II. It can enable children and their families to break out of the cycle of poverty. It can strengthen communities. Nelson Mandela once called education “the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

In addition to this transformative power, education helps reduce child labor. Research shows that the longer we can keep kids in school, the better the chance they have of avoiding exploitative labor settings. Although 88% of children globally complete primary school, only 59% complete upper secondary school. That leaves millions of children and adolescents at risk. However, we know a number of steps that will improve access to education and help support children to stay in school.

First, ensuring that education is free, from pre-school through secondary school, is critical. Eliminating school fees helps improve attendance, often significantly. So-called hidden fees, such as additional costs for books, school uniforms, and transportation, must also be accounted for to ensure that children from the poorest families and communities can attend and complete school.

Second, providing free breakfast and free lunch programs at schools has been shown to improve attendance in many countries. It also helps address food insecurity and boosts academic performance while children are at school, even in wealthier countries such as the United States.

Third, investing in teachers and schools is key to providing quality education for all children. Teacher shortages and other challenges due to inadequate resources can make it harder for many children to access a quality education. Larger class sizes and other burdens on teachers and schools can lead to higher drop-out rates, leaving children at risk of exploitation. Conversely, investing in schools and teachers can improve the quality of education and reduce the risk of dropping out.

Finally, implementing and sustaining programs that support low-income and poor families helps alleviate the pressure for children to work, so they can continue their schooling instead. For example, cash transfer programs, such as Brazil’s Bolsa Família program, have helped improve school attendance and reduce dropout rates by providing financial support to low-income families allowing their children to continue their education.

Investing in education

Other steps are needed, of course. A strong legal framework and active enforcement of child labor laws is necessary to identify abuses early, protect children from exploitation, and hold violators accountable. However, focusing on, and investing in, education is vital not only to protecting children now, but also to ensuring that they can develop to their full potential and be positioned as adults to obtain safe, secure employment opportunities that pay a living wage.

In a world where AI and technological advances often dominate the headlines, it is tempting to want to find the newest innovation to address the exploitation of children. We absolutely should continue to look for new tools and pathways to prevent forced labor and exploitation of children. But we must also remember that sometimes an essential part of the solution is right in front of us. Education is that powerful asset that can help reduce the vulnerability of children to exploitation. We simply have to invest in it.

Ensuring every child has the freedom to learn and grow to their full potential by securing access to free, quality education for all children is a formidable tool in the fight against forced labor and exploitation. In short, being an anti-trafficking ally means standing up for every child’s right to education.

Fears are mounting of a potential environmental disaster off the coast of Britain after a cargo ship carrying toxic chemicals smashed into an oil tanker transporting jet fuel for the US military.

The crash ignited a huge fire, which is still burning in the North Sea, about 10 miles off the coast of Hull, a busy port and fishing center.

Dozens of people were rescued, but one crew member is unaccounted for, according to British authorities.

Meanwhile, environmental groups have warned of potentially harmful consequences for marine life as questions swirl over how the collision could have occurred in broad daylight.

Here’s what we know.

What exactly happened?

The alarm was raised by the British coast guard at 9:48 a.m. Monday (5:48 a.m. ET) after the Solong, a Portugal-flagged container ship, careered into the Stena Immaculate, a US military-chartered oil tanker anchored in the North Sea.

Video showed black plumes of smoke billowing high into the air following an explosion caused by the crash.

At least one of the vessels was seen engulfed in flames, prompting a dramatic rescue mission involving Britain’s coast guard and Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

The Solong was en route from a port in Scotland to the Netherlands. All but one of its 14 crew members were brought safely to shore, the vessel’s owner Ernst Russ said in a statement.

By Monday evening, an “extensive” search for the missing crew member had ended, the coast guard said.

All 23 crew members aboard the Stena Immaculate were safe, according to a statement from Crowley, the US logistics firm that manages the vessel.

Maritime experts questioned how the collision could have happened despite the safety and navigation features common to such vessels.

“What we need to understand is that there are international regulations that dictate how ships can be maneuvered at sea,” said Matthew Schanck, an emergency response expert and founder of consultancy group International Maritime Search and Rescue.

Both ships should have had at least one crew member on duty in their respective control rooms, he said.

“Somebody should have been in charge of both vessels. And so, the fact that this has happened in quite a well-known area for traffic and shipping movements is quite extraordinary,” Schanck said.

What were the ships carrying?

The Solong was transporting an unknown quantity of alcohol and 15 containers of sodium cyanide, according to maritime intelligence company and shipping journal Lloyd’s List.

Sodium cyanide releases hydrogen cyanide gas, a highly toxic asphyxiant that can quickly prove fatal to those exposed, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The chemical can also turn into hydrogen cyanide on contact with water.

It remains unclear whether any cyanide has entered the sea.

As a fire precaution, the Solong would likely have carried its cargo at the front of the vessel, away from the accommodation block and engine rooms, Schanck said.

“The hope would be that these steel containers would protect (against) any spill of cargo,” he added.

The Stena Immaculate was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel in 16 segregated cargo tanks, Crowley said in its statement. It is not clear what volume of fuel may have been released because of the incident, it added.

How hazardous are the chemicals?

Experts say jet fuel spills tend to impact the environment less than crude oil spills.

The jet fuel is “light oil” and “is in stark comparison to the images that we see sometimes of wildlife and the marine environment with thick black, crude oil,” said Schanck, who nevertheless warned of an environmental impact.

“The fire is burning off this jet fuel, which is highly flammable on the surface of the sea. (This) is good for the marine environment (but) not necessarily for the smoke that’s produced,” he said.

Mark Hartl, a marine ecotoxicologist from the Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, said “most of the jet fuel will evaporate very quickly.”

“Whilst the images look worrying, from the perspective of the impact to the aquatic environment it’s less of a concern than if this had been crude oil,” he said.

However, advocacy groups including Greenpeace UK warned of potentially widespread damage to the environment and wildlife.

“We are extremely concerned about the multiple toxic hazards these chemicals could pose to marine life,” said Paul Johnston, a senior scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at Exeter University. “The jet fuel that entered the water close to a breeding ground for harbor porpoises is toxic to fish and other sea creatures.”

Oceana UK campaigns director Alyx Elliott said they are “keeping a close eye” on the incident.

The aviation fuel “can cause a huge amount of damage to wildlife as well as fish populations … it can impact breeding seal colonies of which there are many nearby,” she said. “The potential damage is huge.”

What happens next?

An investigation is likely to be carried out to determine what went wrong, according to Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the nearby Port of Grimsby East.

Meanwhile, an assessment of counter pollution response is being carried out by the Maritime and Coastguard agency, the coast guard said.

Crowley, the oil tanker manager, said it is supporting British authorities in their investigation of the incident.