Amidst a scorching heatwave, Dhaka finds itself confronting concerning air quality levels, securing the 8th position globally with an AQI score of 127 as of 9:10am on Tuesday.
The city’s atmosphere has been labeled as “unhealthy” by the air quality index, joining the ranks of metropolises grappling with air pollution challenges.
Leading the list are India’s Delhi, Qatar’s Doha, and Thailand’s Chiang Mai, registering AQI scores of 226, 168, and 167 respectively.
Understanding the AQI scale, values between 101 and 150 indicate “unhealthy for sensitive groups”, while levels exceeding 150 escalate to “unhealthy” categories, posing risks to public health.
The AQI serves as a crucial tool, shedding light on daily air quality conditions and potential health implications for residents. In Bangladesh, the index considers five key pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone.
Dhaka’s battle with air pollution is longstanding, with conditions typically deteriorating during winter and improving with the arrival of the monsoon.
Highlighting the global impact of air pollution, the World Health Organization (WHO) underscores its lethal toll, claiming an estimated seven million lives annually due to associated health complications such as stroke, heart disease, and respiratory ailments.
