Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, ranked sixth among the world’s most polluted cities on Friday morning, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 107 recorded at 9:50 am.
The air was classified as ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, meaning it may pose health risks to vulnerable people, according to the AQI scale.
Indonesia’s Jakarta, Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kinshasa and China’s Chengdu occupied the top three spots with AQI scores of 170, 148 and 142 respectively.
An AQI value between 101 and 150 is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, while 151–200 is ‘unhealthy’, 201–300 is ‘very unhealthy’, and 301 and above is ‘hazardous’, posing serious health risks.
The AQI measures daily air quality by indicating how polluted the air is and what health effects may be experienced by people.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five key pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and ozone.
Dhaka has long struggled with severe air pollution, which typically worsens during the winter months and improves in the monsoon season.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution causes around seven million deaths worldwide each year, mainly due to stroke, heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.