Dhaka's air quality continued to be in the ‘moderate’ zone this morning.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 81 at 9:00 am, Dhaka ranked the18th on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.
Democratic Republic of the Congo's Kinshasa, Qatar's Doha and Pakistan's Lahore occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 175, 168 and 157, respectively.
An AQI between 50 and 100 is considered ‘moderate’ with acceptable air quality. However, there may be a health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria 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 the winter and improves during the monsoon.
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year.