Dhaka air 5th worst polluted in the world Thursday morning

Air pollution in Dhaka City on Thursday morning

Dhaka, Jan 19 - The air quality in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka is 'unhealthy' Thursday morning (January 19, 2023).

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 194 at 9:10 am on Thursday, Dhaka ranked fifth in the list of world cities with worst air quality.

India’s Delhi and Mumbai occupied the first and third places with AQI of 250 and 199 respectively.  Kyrgyzstan’ Bishkek ranked second in the list with AQI of 209.

An AQI between 151 and 200 is said to be ‘unhealthy’ while 201 and 300 is considered ‘very unhealthy’, and 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.

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.

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.