Dhaka, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh, ranked 22nd on the list of cities with the worst air quality, with an AQI index of 79 at 9:50am on Friday. This “moderate” classification indicates an improvement in Dhaka’s air quality, which has remained in the moderate zone for the past few days.
An AQI value between 50 and 100 is considered moderate, where sensitive individuals should limit prolonged outdoor exertion. When AQI values range from 101 to 150, air quality is deemed unhealthy for sensitive groups; 150 to 200 is unhealthy; 201 to 300 is very unhealthy; and readings above 301 are hazardous, posing serious health risks.
The top spots on the list were occupied by Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Kuwait City (Kuwait), and Lahore (Pakistan), with AQI scores of 210, 193, and 163, respectively.
The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people about the cleanliness or pollution levels of the air 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, which typically worsens in winter and improves during the monsoon. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide annually, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.
