Dhaka ranked 12th among cities worldwide for poor air quality, recording an AQI score of 97 at 9 AM on Sunday.
This morning, Dhaka’s air was classified as “moderate” by the air quality index.
An AQI score between 50 and 100 is considered “moderate”, while scores between 101 and 150 indicate “unhealthy for sensitive groups”. An AQI score from 151 to 200 is deemed “unhealthy”, 201 to 300 is “very unhealthy”, and above 301 is “hazardous”, posing significant health risks.
Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Delhi in India, and Lahore in Pakistan held the top three spots on the list with AQI scores of 172, 164, and 158, respectively.
The AQI reports daily air quality, indicating how polluted or clean the air is and its potential health effects.
In Bangladesh, the AQI measures five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone.
Dhaka has long struggled with air pollution, with air quality typically worsening in winter and improving during the monsoon season.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is responsible for an estimated seven million deaths annually, primarily from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.