United News of Bangladesh

Dhaka, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh, has ranked the ninth on the list of cities with the worst air quality with an AQI score of 152 on Saturday morning. Today’s air was classified as 'unhealthy’, referring to a health risk to residents, according to the AQI index. Nepal’s Kathmandu, India’s Delhi, China’s Wuhan and Pakistan’s Lahore occupied the first, second, third and fourth spots on the list, with AQI scores of 211, 198, 171 and 170, respectively. Dhaka’s air quality turns ‘unhealthy’ this morning When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 50 and 100, air quality is considered ‘moderate’, usually sensitive individuals should consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion, between 101 and 150, air quality is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, between 150 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. 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. The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone. Dhaka’s air quality turns ‘very unhealthy’ this morning Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon. As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.  

Dhaka, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh, has ranked the fourth on the list of cities with the worst air quality with an AQI score of 158 on Saturday morning. Today’s air was classified as 'unhealthy’, referring to a health risk to residents, according to the AQI index. Nepal’s Kathmandu, Thailand’s Chiang Mai and Myanmar’s Yangon occupied the first, second, and third spots on the list, with AQI scores of 194, 181 and 171, respectively. When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 50 and 100, air quality is considered ‘moderate’, usually sensitive individuals should consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion, between 101 and 150, air quality is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, between 150 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. Dhaka’s air quality ‘unhealthy,’ ranks 5th worst 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. The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five 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. Dhaka’s ‘unhealthy’ air quality persists As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.  

Dhaka, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh, has topped the list of cities with the worst air quality with an AQI index of 221 at 09:01 am on Saturday. The air was classified as 'very unhealthy', according to the air quality and pollution city ranking. An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy' while 201-300 is 'very unhealthy' and 301-400 is considered 'hazardous', posing severe health risks to residents. Vietnam’s Hanoi, India’s Delhi and Pakistan’s Lahore occupied the second, third and fourth spots in the list, with AQI scores of 192, 189 and 180, respectively. Dhaka’s ‘unhealthy’ air quality persists 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. The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone. Dhaka’s air quality worst in the world this morning Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.   As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.  

Dhaka, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh, has topped the list of cities with the worst air quality with an AQI index of 304 at 09:04 am on Saturday. The air was classified as 'hazardous', according to the air quality and pollution city ranking. An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy' while 201-300 is 'very unhealthy' and 301-400 is considered 'hazardous', posing severe health risks to residents. China’s Beijing, Uzbekistan’s Tashkent and Iraq’s Baghdad occupied the second, third and fourth spots in the list, with AQI scores of 238, 220 and 179, 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. The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone. Dhaka’s air quality worst Tuesday morning Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon. As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections. Dhaka’s air quality turns ‘unhealthy’ this morning

Dhaka, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh, has ranked 4th on the list of cities with the worst air quality with an AQI index of 192 at 9:29 am on Saturday. Dhaka’s air was classified as 'unhealthy', according to the air quality and pollution city ranking. India's Delhi, Cambodia’s Phnom Penh, and Uganda’s Kampala occupied the first and second spots in the list, with AQI scores of 209, 203 and 194, respectively. Dhaka’s air quality ranks world's 3rd worst on Tuesday An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy' while 201-300 is 'very unhealthy' and 301-400 is considered 'hazardous', posing severe health risks to residents. 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. The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five 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. Improved air quality could save over 81,000 lives annually in Bangladesh: Report

Dhaka, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh, has topped the list of cities with the worst air quality with an AQI index of 257 at 09:31am on Saturday. The air was classified as 'very unhealthy', according to the air quality and pollution city ranking. An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy' while 201-300 is 'very unhealthy' and 301-400 is considered 'hazardous', posing severe health risks to residents. Pakistan’s Lahore, China’s Beijing and Uganda’s Kampala occupied the second, third and fourth spots in the list, with AQI scores of 228, 196 and 187, 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. Dhaka’s air quality ranks world's 2nd worst on Thursday The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five 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. Dhaka's air quality 2nd worst in the world this morning As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.  

Dhaka, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh, has topped the list of cities with the worst air quality with an AQI index of 255 at 09:01am on Friday. The air was classified as 'very unhealthy', according to the air quality and pollution city ranking. An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy' while 201-300 is 'very unhealthy' and 301-400 is considered 'hazardous', posing severe health risks to residents. Vietnam’s Hanoi, Uzbekistan’s Tashkent and India’s Delhi occupied the second, third and fourth spots in the list, with AQI scores of 234, 201 and 189, respectively. Dhaka’s air quality ranks world's 2nd worst on Thursday 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. The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five 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. Dhaka's air quality is worst in the world this morning As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.  

Dhaka has ranked the second on the list of cities with the worst air quality with an AQI score of 243 at 8:58am today. The air was classified as "very unhealthy", according to the AQI index on Saturday. India's Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai, occupied the first, third and fourth spots on the list, with AQI scores of 299, 215 and 210 respectively. Old, polluting buses in Dhaka to be scrapped to combat air pollution: Rizwana When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 50 and 100, air quality is considered ‘moderate’, between 101 and 150, air quality is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, between 150 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. 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. The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five 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. Air pollution: Dhaka 6th worst city in the world today As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.  

Dhaka’s air continues to be unhealthy as it ranked 12th on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality with an AQI score of 160 at 8:50 am on Saturday. China’s Wuhan, Vietnam's Hanoi and Pakistan's Karachi occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 271, 253 and 237, respectively. When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, between 150 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. 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. Dhaka’s air quality ‘very unhealthy’ this morning 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. 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. Dhaka’s air quality ‘very unhealthy’ this morning 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, the bustling capital of Bangladesh, is grappling with a worsening air pollution problem that endangers both public health and economic vitalities. Over the past week, Dhaka's Air Quality Index (AQI) has consistently ranked among the highest globally, indicating severe air pollution levels. On December 11 at 9:10 am, Dhaka recorded an AQI of 249, placing it as the third most polluted city in the world. Tackling air pollution: Environment Adviser launches National Air Quality Management Action Plan More worrying is that Dhaka's air quality deteriorates significantly during winter, primarily due to increased emissions from brick kilns, construction activities and vehicular pollution. According to a study by the Centre for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS) at Stamford University Bangladesh, the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) surges during this season, often exceeding the WHO's safe limit by several folds. The colder temperature and lower wind speeds cause pollutants to linger in the atmosphere, creating thick smog that engulfs the city. Besides, rural practices like burning biomass for heating exacerbate the situation by adding to the airborne pollutants. Dhaka’s air pollution reaches alarming level: Research This seasonal decline in air quality not only hampers visibility but also poses severe health risks, particularly for those with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions. Recent studies, including one published in GSC Advanced Research and Reviews, also highlights the city’s deteriorating air quality and its profound consequences. Another research article, authored by Faisal Ahmed, Abu Zaher Mohammad Bayazid, Md Monerul Islam, Md Ziaur Rahaman, and Md Fahim Al Muntasir, calls for urgent and comprehensive interventions to combat this crisis. A City Suffocated by Pollution Levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are alarmingly high, averaging between 165 and 175 μg/m³ during winter months—over ten times the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended limit of 15 μg/m³. Even during the monsoon season, when pollution levels typically decrease, the air remains hazardous. Causes Vehicular Emissions: Most vehicles in Bangladesh are outdated, poorly maintained and lack emission controls. Construction and Industrial Activities: Brick kilns, integral to local construction, and large-scale infrastructure projects generate vast amounts of particulate matter. Power Generation: Reliance on coal, liquid fuel and furnace oil in 20% of the country’s power plants significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Cross-Border Pollution: Trans-boundary pollutants from coal-burning activities in neighbouring India and Nepal account for an estimated 40% of Bangladesh’s air pollution. Health Impacts Dhaka’s residents face a growing health emergency as air pollution exacerbates respiratory and other illnesses. A related study by Trishul Basak Dibya, Amrin Yeasin Proma, and Syed Masudur Rahman Dewan highlights widespread respiratory disorders, including chronic bronchitis and lower respiratory tract infections. Occupational exposure to polluted outdoor air has heightened risks for many. According to the WHO, air pollution in Dhaka contributes to an estimated 15,000 premature deaths annually and millions of cases of respiratory ailments. In 2021, air pollution was the leading cause of death in Bangladesh, with 236,000 fatalities attributed to it. Economic Fallout The economic toll of air pollution in Dhaka is staggering. Annual losses amount to $192 million, driven by healthcare costs and reduced productivity. A World Bank report estimated that air pollution’s impact on Bangladesh’s economy in 2019 ranged from $11.5 billion to $13 billion, equivalent to 3.9% to 4.4% of the nation’s GDP. Persistent environmental degradation threatens the country’s long-term development goals. Proposed Solutions and Interventions The study authors propose a multifaceted approach to address Dhaka’s air pollution crisis: Transportation Reforms: Introducing affordable hybrid vehicles and mandating computerised emission testing for all vehicles. Energy Transition: Promoting renewable energy sources, including solar and wind, to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Industrial Regulations: Implementing modern brick kiln technologies and enforcing strict oversight of construction activities. Urban Planning: Developing green spaces, pedestrian-friendly zones, and improved waste management systems to curb emissions. Regional Cooperation: Collaborating with neighbouring countries to address transboundary pollution challenges. National Air Quality Management Action Plan On November 5, Environment Adviser yeda Rizwana Hasan launched the National Air Quality Management Action Plan. Speaking at the event held at the Department of Environment in Dhaka, Rizwana Hasan outlined strategic actions to tackle pollution sources, improve air monitoring, and enhance enforcement mechanisms. The action plan includes: ·         Implementing stringent regulations and promoting cleaner technologies in industries, transportation, and urban development. ·         Integrating air quality management into national policies and adopting advanced monitoring technologies. ·         Increasing public awareness about the health impacts of pollution. Rizwana Hasan stressed the need for collaboration among government agencies, development partners, civil society, and the private sector to ensure effective execution of the plan. She also inaugurated new software to automate the environmental clearance process through an online platform, streamlining issuance and renewal procedures. Immediate Action While the government has made strides in addressing air quality, the research stresses the urgency for further action. To protect public health and secure a sustainable future, we must enforce strict air quality regulations and foster environmentally friendly urban development, the authors urge. Public awareness campaigns, stricter enforcement of existing laws, and investments in green technology are critical to reversing the trend. Without immediate and effective interventions, Dhaka’s public health and economy will continue to suffer. As one of the fastest-growing cities globally, Dhaka must prioritise environmental resilience to ensure a livable future for its residents.