Dhaka 2nd among world’s most polluted cities

Dhaka jointly with Jakarta of Indonesia has ranked second on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality, with an identical AQI index of 167 at 8:45am on Monday.

Dhaka's air was classified as “unhealthy”, according to the Air Quality Index of IQAir.

India’s Delhi, Dubai of the United Arab Emirates and Tel Aviv-Yafo of Isreal occupied the first, third and fourth spots on the list, with AQI scores of 253, 127 and 109, 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 “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.