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Air pollution has been one of the biggest concerns for the megacity surrounded by brick kilns, with uncontrolled discharge of dust from construction works and streets filled with vehicles emitting smokes.
The situation is so bad that the High Court in January this year issued a nine-point directive to improve the air quality. Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin told UNB in February that air pollution “should be seen as an important national crisis”.
Dhaka’s score of 233 in the AQI scale means that everyone may begin to experience more serious health effects.
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China’s Chengdu occupied the second and third positions in the list of cities with the worst air quality with scores of 169 and 158 respectively.
The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs 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 (O3).
Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution. Its air quality usually improves during monsoon.