This country's capital is world's most polluted city

Jakarta has regularly recorded "unhealthy" levels of PM2.5, which can penetrate airways and cause respiratory problems.

Air pollution is estimated to contribute to seven million premature deaths every year and is considered by the United Nations to be the single most significant environmental health risk. (AFP)

According to air quality monitoring firm IQAir, the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, has become the world's most polluted major city. For days, it has been topping global charts as authorities fail to grapple with a spike in toxic smog.

Air pollution is estimated to contribute to seven million premature deaths every year and is considered by the United Nations to be the single most significant environmental health risk. (AFP)

The capital and its surroundings form a megalopolis of about 30 million people. This week, the capital outpaced other heavily polluted cities, including Riyadh, Doha, and Lahore, in its concentration of tiny particles known as PM2.5.

According to an AFP tally, it has topped Swiss company IQAir's ranking of pollution data—which only tracks major cities—every day since Monday.

Jakarta regularly records "unhealthy" levels of PM2.5, which can penetrate airways and cause respiratory problems, many times the World Health Organization's recommended levels.