Dhaka’s air quality was classified as “good” on Friday morning, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 50.
At 8:45am, the capital ranked 59th among cities worldwide in terms of air pollution.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good,” while a score between 50 and 100 falls under the “moderate” category.
Indonesia’s Jakarta, Senegal’s Dakar, and Uganda’s Kampala topped the list of cities with the worst air quality, recording AQI scores of 176, 162, and 156, respectively.
According to AQI standards, a reading between 101 and 150 is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, 151 to 200 ‘unhealthy’, 201 to 300 ‘very unhealthy’, while levels above 301 are deemed ‘hazardous’, posing serious health risks.
The AQI, which provides daily updates on air quality, indicates how clean or polluted the air is and highlights potential health impacts.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is calculated based on five major pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone.
Dhaka has long struggled with air pollution, with air quality typically worsening in winter and improving during the monsoon season.
The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution causes around seven million deaths globally each year, mainly due to stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections