Dhaka has ranked 20th among cities globally with the worst air quality, registering an AQI score of 73 at 9:05 am on Saturday.
The city’s air was classified as “moderate” in the morning, continuing a trend observed over the past few days due to the monsoon season, as per the air quality index.
An AQI value between 50 and 100 is considered “moderate”, while 101 to 150 is “unhealthy for sensitive groups”. Values from 150 to 200 indicate “unhealthy” air, 201 to 300 is “very unhealthy”, and a reading of 301+ is deemed “hazardous”, posing serious health risks.
Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lahore in Pakistan, and Jakarta in Indonesia occupied the top three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 179, 158, and 158, respectively.
The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality, informing residents about how clean or polluted their city’s air is and any potential health effects.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone.
Dhaka has been struggling with air pollution for a long time. The city’s air quality typically deteriorates in winter and improves during the monsoon.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is responsible for an estimated seven million deaths annually, primarily due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.
