Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, ranked 10th among the world’s most polluted cities on Friday morning, recording an AQI score of 167 at 9 am.
According to the Air Quality Index (AQI), Dhaka’s air at that time fell into the ‘unhealthy’ category, posing health risks for residents.
Under the AQI scale, a reading of 50–100 is considered ‘moderate’, 101–150 ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, 150–200 ‘unhealthy’, 201–300 ‘very unhealthy’, and 301+ classified as ‘hazardous’, which carries severe health risks.
India’s Delhi, Vietnam’s Hanoi and India’s Kolkata topped the list, with AQI scores of 385, 255 and 246, 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.
The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone.
Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.
As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.