Dhaka Ranks 16th Globally With Moderate Air Quality

Dhaka ranked 16th among the world's most polluted cities on Sunday morning, recording an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 94 at 9:35am.

According to the AQI scale, the capital's air quality was classified as "Moderate", meaning it poses a moderate health concern for a small number of unusually sensitive people, including those with asthma, heart disease and older adults.

Uganda's Kampala topped the global pollution list with an AQI score of 225, followed by Johannesburg in South Africa (170) and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (168).

Under AQI standards, a reading of 101-150 is considered "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups", 151-200 is "Unhealthy", 201-300 is "Very Unhealthy", and any reading above 301 is classified as "Hazardous", posing serious health risks.

The AQI provides daily information on air quality by indicating how clean or polluted the air is and the potential health effects associated with it.

In Bangladesh, the AQI is calculated using five key pollutants: particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and ozone (O₃).

Dhaka has long struggled with air pollution, with air quality typically deteriorating during the winter months and improving during the monsoon season.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution causes an estimated seven million deaths worldwide each year, primarily from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.