An analysis of the results of a study of 50 cities was carried out to find the most harmful cities in the world in terms of our skin health. The answer to this question shows that Athens is second in the ranking for European countries and takes 3rd place for countries around the world while Toronto takes the first place.
Skincare and anti-ageing have always been hot topics. According to Statista, the total expected revenue worldwide for the skincare industry stands at a staggering US$155.7billion in 2023, and is expected to increase by 3.91% every year; with the USA, Japan, and China spending the most. The health insurance experts at Compare the Market have crunched the data, looking at a variety of factors, from the levels of harmful pollutants in the air, through to UV levels and hours of sunshine. So, read on to see if you live in a city where you need to take extra precautions with your skin.
We found that two of the five worst cities are situated in North America. Toronto is officially the worst, with Phoenix the fourth worst, New York not too far behind as the sixth worst. Bratislava, Athens and Budapest are three European cities in the top five, but if we extend it out to the top 10 worst cities, then more European destinations make the cut, including Porto, Istanbul, Lisbon and Barcelona. Sydney comes in 11th position, which is the worst in Australia and New Zealand, again, due to the air particles. it has the most PM 2.5 across these two countries, and it has the second highest score on the UV index globally, at 7.08.
Two Baltic capitals also make it into the top 10, with Tallinn in fifth place and Riga in eighth. Filling in the top best countries was Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, which came in sixth place. Dublin came in ninth, and Melbourne in 10th.
As for other factors, the European capitals with the lowest levels of PM 2.5 were Berlin, Barcelona, Munich, and Zurich at 0; and Tallinn, Edinburgh, and Oslo have the lowest levels of NO2. When it comes to sunshine hours, whilst Scandinavian capitals are low, they’re not the lowest. Krakow has the least number of average daily hours, at 3.5, with Dublin, Brussels, Zurich, and Vilnius all also seeing less than four hours of sunshine on a typical day.
Moving over to North America, all top five cities are based in the USA, with Texas’ San Antonio in top position, despite placing 16th overall, globally. San Diego comes in second place, Houston in third, Philadelphia in fourth, and Dallas in fifth for America and Canada.
Out of the six cities in Australia and New Zealand we looked at, Wellington scored the best for skin, followed by Melbourne and Adelaide.
“According to our research, the location in which we live can have an impact on skin health,” says Ms. Hambilton. The proper way to protect our skin is to use a sun protection cream daily, combine retinol with our skincare routine, and start consuming Vitamin C.
