On Saturday morning at 8:55am, Dhaka was ranked 44th globally for the worst air quality, with an AQI score of 58. The city’s air quality was categorized as “moderate,” according to the Air Quality Index (AQI).
The AQI scale classifies air quality as “moderate” when the particle pollution score ranges between 50 and 100. Scores between 101 and 150 are deemed “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” 151 to 200 as “unhealthy,” 201 to 300 as “very unhealthy,” and readings above 301 as “hazardous,” posing significant health risks.
Leading the list of cities with the poorest air quality were Delhi, India; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; and Jakarta, Indonesia, with AQI scores of 189, 187, and 166, respectively.
The AQI is a vital tool for reporting daily air quality, providing information on how clean or polluted the air is and highlighting potential health effects. In Bangladesh, the AQI considers five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone.
Dhaka has faced ongoing air pollution challenges, with air quality typically deteriorating 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 worldwide. The primary causes of increased mortality include stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.
