It had an AQI score of 227 at 09:42am. The air was classified as ‘very unhealthy’. Everyone may experience more serious health effects when t0he AQI score is between 201 and 300.
Pakistan’s Lahore and India’s Delhi were ranked first and third in the list of cities with worst air with AQI scores of 247 and 224 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). The Department of Environment has also set national ambient air quality standards for these pollutants. These standards aim to protect against adverse human health impacts.
Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution. The air quality usually improves during monsoon.