Dhaka’s air quality remained in the 'very unhealthy' zone this morning. With an air quality index (AQI) score of 215 at 11:30 am, the capital of Bangladesh ranked second in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.
India’s Delhi and Pakistan’s Lahore occupied the first and third spots, with AQI of 249 and 201 respectively.
Also read: Dhaka air 2nd most polluted in the world this morning
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups, and an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.