HOW DID WE GET TO THIS?

Location: Baghdad, Iraq

Details: The once vibrant city has been brought to its knees by years of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship and damage from the Gulf War. Since the U.S. invasion, lootings, robberies, kidnappings, and assaults have been rife, but it is the daily slaughter of troops, journalists and civilians that terrify people the most. Although a physical curfew has been lifted, a psychological one still remains and the streets have been left largely deserted.

Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh

Details: Despite enduring political instability, military suppression and devastation from war and natural disaster, the capital of Bangladesh faces a new crisis over critically high pollution levels. Rapid industrial development has filled the city with so much smog it is causing environmental damage, particularly with the 9.7 million tons of waste dumped in the river by the city each year. It is only a matter of time before disease takes hold.

Location: Yakutsk, Russia

Details Officially the coldest place on earth, with temperatures often dropping to a hypothermia-inducing -58°F, and if it drops below this (which it often does), children get the day off school. Visibility in this city of ice and snow isn't good either; a thick fog often reduces visibility to no more than 10 meters in front of you. Another hellish aspect of Yakutsk is its sheer isolation; a whole six time zones away from Moscow, there's definitely no chance of anyone hearing you scream in this hell on earth.

Location: Mogadishu, East Africa

Details Rebel forces took the city in 1990 and since then there has been a power struggle between Mohammed Ali Mahdi and Mohammed Farah Aidid. In 1992, a rebel war destroyed much of the city with thousands of casualties, and a badly timed drought induced nationwide famine. Despite the city practically closing down, confusion over the head of state continues today and Mogadishu is largely lawless, with no structure of real peacekeeping present.

Location: Chernobyl, Ukraine

Details: Famed for a nuclear explosion that tore through the city in 1986 and contaminated most of its living organisms, Chernobyl is certainly not the kind of place you'd like to vacation in. In fact, most people here would do pretty much anything to escape the toxicity that oozes from its every pore. Having experienced the worst nuclear accident in history, the city has never recovered and probably never will. Everything is still largely abandoned and remains as it was 20 years ago, with hundreds of miles of uninhabitable space, deserted buildings and poisoned lakes and rivers.

Location: Pyongyang, North Korea

Details: Still in the throes of communism, the city is so oppressed you just might scream. While its modern-day facade may look like any other Western city, underneath it's entirely autocratic. Radios and TVs have only one channel, which broadcasts special programs controlled by the government; premarital sex is unheard of; bicycles are banned as part of a political regime to restrict movement and interaction amongst people; and reports suggest (although the government denies) that individuals need permission to travel outside of the city.

Location: Bujumbura, Republic of Burundi

Details: With the lowest GDP per capita in the world, Burundi is the poorest country on the planet and is scarred by a history of genocide, mass killing and assassinated political leaders. Not only that, but a pool of 178 countries found that Burundi's people had the poorest satisfaction of life in the world. Curfews are enforced in its capital, Bujumbura, and let's just say that fighting between rebel forces and the government doesn't just play out in parliament.

Location: Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Details: This is the "worst place to live in the world," according to a 2004 vote by the Economist's Intelligence Unit. Over 115 new HIV and AIDS cases are diagnosed every month at Port Moresby General Hospital. With the population expanding at an uncontrollable rate, income levels have plummeted, and cases of rape, robbery and murder have reached new heights (the murder rate is 23 times that of London). Don't worry if you don't have time to pick up some souvenirs -- you'll almost certainly have picked up a disease or two to take home with you.

Location: Linfen, China

Details: Once voted by Time Magazine as the most polluted city ever, Linfen, is very sooty and dark. Located in a 12-mile industrial belt, and affected by the 50 million tons of coal mined each year in the nearby hills of Shanxi, Linfen doesn't stand much of a chance. While the air is filled with burning coal, the streets are choking with emissions from jam-packed traffic -- there's no escape from the smog. In fact, you may as well light up and begin a 40-a-day habit -- even a surgical mask won't save you in this hell on earth.