Largest sulfur dioxide emissions worldwide 2022, by leading country

India emitted approximately 11.2 million metric tons of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) in 2022. This accounted for roughly 16 percent of global SO₂ emissions that year, making India the world's biggest emitter of this toxic air pollutant. China followed closely in second, having emitted just over 10 million metric tons. SO₂ is produced by the burning of fossil fuels, like coal and oil, in power plants or other industrial facilities, and is a precursor of acid rain.