Dhaka’s air 2nd most polluted in the world Friday morning

Air pollution in capital Dhaka has reached extreme level, causing various health hazards to the city dwellers. Madani Avenue in Bhatara. Photo - Adnan Adid. UNB

Dhaka, May 19 – Dhaka city's air has been ranked the second most polluted in the world on Friday morning.

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 166 at 9:00am, Dhaka's air is deemed "unhealthy".

India’s Delhi and Pakistan’s Lahore occupied the first, and third spots, with AQI scores of 169 and 161.

An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered ‘unhealthy’ while between 201–300 is ‘’very unhealthy’, and 301–400 is '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, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh, 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. - UNB