Dhaka's air quality was marked "unhealthy for sensitive groups" this morning (June 14, 2023). With an air quality index (AQI) score of 133 at 9:08 am, Dhaka ranked 4th in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality. Chile’s Santiago, Indonesia’s Jakarta and India’s Delhi occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 148, 145 and 137 respectively. Also read: No improvement in Dhaka’s air quality amid sweltering heat An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered “unhealthy”, particularly for sensitive groups. Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be “poor'”, while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered “hazardous”, posing serious health risks to residents. AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how safe 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. Also read: Air pollution 2nd biggest cause of deaths in Bangladesh in 2019, cost about 3.9-4.4% of GDP: World Bank Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in 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, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.    

Dhaka's air quality remained 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' on Sunday morning. With an air quality index (AQI) score of 122 at 9 am, the metropolis ranked 14th in the list of world cities with the worst air quality. Pakistan’s Karachi and Lahore and India’s Delhi occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 246, 233 and 193, respectively. Read: Dhaka’s air quality stays ‘unhealthy’ An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups. Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents. 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. A report by the Department of Environment (DoE) and the World Bank in March 2019 pointed out that the three main sources of air pollution in Dhaka "are brick kilns, fumes from vehicles and dust from construction sites". 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. Read:Dhaka's air quality 'unhealthy’ this morning 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.

After a marked improvement, Dhaka's air quality slipped back to the 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' category on Monday. With an air quality index (AQI) score of 102 at 9 am, the metropolis ranked 16th in the list of world cities with the worst air quality. Pakistan’s Lahore, China’s Chengdu and the UAE’s Dubai occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 176, 161 and 161, respectively. An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups. Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents. 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. Read: Dhaka’s air quality remains ‘unhealthy’ 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. A report by the Department of Environment (DoE) and the World Bank in March 2019 pointed out that the three main sources of air pollution in Dhaka "are brick kilns, fumes from vehicles and dust from construction sites". 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.