Dhaka, Bangladesh, has secured the fifth position globally for the poorest air quality, registering an AQI index of 158 at 10:33 am on Saturday morning.
The air quality in Dhaka was labeled as “unhealthy” as per the air quality index.
Cities like Delhi in India, Katmandu in Nepal, and Beijing in China clinched the top three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 246, 174, and 167, respectively.
When the AQI value falls between 101 and 150 for particle pollution, the air quality is deemed ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’. It escalates to ‘unhealthy’ between 150 and 200, and further to ‘very unhealthy’ within 201 and 300, while any reading exceeding 301 is labeled ‘hazardous’, posing significant health risks to residents.
The AQI serves as a pivotal index for daily air quality reporting, informing individuals about the cleanliness or pollution levels in a particular city and the potential health implications.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is derived from five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone.
Dhaka has been contending with air pollution issues for an extended period. Typically, its air quality deteriorates during winter and shows signs of improvement during the monsoon season.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution claims the lives of approximately seven million individuals globally each year, primarily due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.
