Dhaka ranked second on the list of cities with the worst air quality, recording an AQI score of 183 at 9 am on Sunday.
This morning, Dhaka’s air was classified as “unhealthy,” a significant deterioration from Saturday’s “moderate” air quality with an AQI score of 99, according to the air quality index.
AQI values between 50 and 100 indicate “moderate” air quality, between 101 and 150 are “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” between 150 and 200 are “unhealthy,” between 201 and 300 are “very unhealthy,” and readings above 301 are “hazardous,” posing serious health risks to residents.
India’s Delhi, Pakistan’s Lahore, and China’s Wuhan held the first, third, and fourth spots on the list, with AQI scores of 370, 177, and 167, respectively.
The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality, informing people about how clean or polluted the air is and the associated health effects.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone.
Dhaka has long struggled with air pollution issues, with air quality typically worsening in winter and improving during the monsoon season.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution causes an estimated seven million deaths worldwide each year, primarily due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.
