By Kim Bo-eun
Korea, which continues to suffer from fine dust during spring, was ranked 173rd out of 180 countries in outdoor air quality.
According to the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2016 published by Yale and Columbia universities, Korea scored 45.51 points out of 100 in outdoor air quality.
The EPI, announced biennially at the World Economic Forum, evaluates the environmental sustainability of countries around the world, based on 20 factors ranging from climate change and health to farming and fishing.
In “average exposure to particulate matter,” a subsection of air quality, Korea ranked 174th.
The report referred to Korea as “a nation where average exposure to particulate matter exceeds levels the World Health Organization (WHO) considers safe (10 micrograms per cubic meter).”
“In South Korea, more than 50 percent of their population is exposed to unsafe levels of fine particulate matter,” it said.
Korea ranked 103rd in “health impact” and 83rd in “climate and energy.”
The index also showed Korea is underachieving in reducing exposure to nitrogen dioxide as well as reducing carbon emissions.
In the overall EPI ranking, which puts together the scores of each of the 20 criteria, Korea earned 70.61 points at 80th, between Botswana (79th) and South Africa (81st).
Most of the countries in Korea’s range were based in Africa and South America.
Finland topped the global ranking, followed by Iceland, Sweden, Denmark and Slovenia.
Other countries in the top 10 included Spain, Portugal, Estonia, Malta and France.
Among Asian countries, Singapore ranked the highest at 16th, followed by Japan at 39th, Taiwan at 60th and Malaysia at 63rd.
Korea had ranked 43rd in the 2012 and 2014 indices, but showed a deteriorated environmental performance for this year’s index.
“Nations that fell in the rankings despite historically good environmental records ― like Switzerland, Germany and South Korea ― despite showing improvement in most areas, were outperformed by other countries who enhanced their environment to an even greater degree,” the report said.