The government on Thursday (December 11, 2025) told the Parliament that global air quality rankings cited by various organisations are not conducted by any official authority and that the World Health Organisation's (WHO) air quality guidelines serve only as advisory values, not binding standards.

Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha on India's position in global indices such as IQAir's World Air Quality Ranking, the WHO Global Air Quality Database, the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) metrics, the Environment Ministry said no official country-wise pollution ranking is carried out worldwide.

Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh said the WHO's guidelines are meant to help countries set their own standards, taking into acc

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