Dhaka's air quality has turned "good" due to the incessant rain triggered by Cyclone Remal. With an air quality index (AQI) score of 38 at 9 am this morning (May 28, 2024), Dhaka anked 77th on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality. When the AQI score is between 0 and 50, air quality is considered to be ‘good’, while between 50 and 100 is ‘moderate’, between 101 and 150 ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, between 151 and 200 is ‘unhealthy’, between 201 and 300 is said to be 'very unhealthy', while a reading of 301+ is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.  India's Delhi, Indonesia's Jakarta and Pakistan's Lahore occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 216, 173 and 162, respectively.  Dhaka’s air quality turns ‘moderate’ under influence of Cyclone Remal AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform 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.  Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.   With the advent of winter, the city’s air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of pollutant particles from construction work, rundown roads, brick kilns and other sources. Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. Read more: Cyclone Remal: Great Danger Signal No. 10 issued for Mongla, Payra; 9 for Ctg and Cox’s Bazar

The High Court on Monday ordered to publish the list of the organisations or persons responsible for polluting the environment within one week through a press release and on the website of the Department of Environment (DoE). The HC bench of Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim passed the order and asked the authorities concerned to submit a progress report on it within two weeks after implementing the court order. It also issued a rule asking the government to explain as to why the ineffectiveness of the responsible persons in publishing the names of people involved in pollution should not be declared illegal. The HC issued another rule asking why directives should not be given to publish the names of the responsible persons involved in polluting the environment. Secretaries to the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry, Information Ministry, Directorate General of the Director General of the Department of Environment (DOE) and four others were made respondent to the rules which is returnable in four weeks. Advocate Manzill Murshid stood for the petitioner. READ: HC grants 6 months bail to accused Sylhet cop in custodial death case Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh filed a writ petition following a report published in different media that the authorities concerned will refrain from making the names of the organisations and persons involved in pollution in public. The DoE must publish the names of those people or organisations involved in polluting the environment, said Manzill. But the DoE has taken their stance on behalf of those involved in the pollution which is illegal, he said.