Dhaka, the overcrowded capital of Bangladesh, ranked 16th among cities with the worst air quality, registering an AQI score of 86 at 9:30 AM on Sunday morning. According to the AQI index, Sunday’s air quality was classified as moderate.
Moderate air quality, indicated by an AQI value between 50 and 100, suggests that sensitive individuals should consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion. The AQI scale further categorizes air quality from unhealthy for sensitive groups (101-150), unhealthy (151-200), very unhealthy (201-300), to hazardous (301+), posing severe health risks.
Top spots on the worst air quality list were occupied by Lahore, Pakistan (AQI 190), Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (AQI 182), and Santiago, Chile (AQI 180).
The AQI, an index reporting daily air quality, highlights how clean or polluted a city’s air is and the 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 long struggled with air pollution, with air quality 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, primarily due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.
