Dhaka's air quality was categorised as ‘unhealthy for
sensitive groups’ this morning.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 125 at 9:00 am, Dhaka ranked the 6th
on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.
Qatar's Doha, United Arab Emirates' Dubai and Democratic Republic of Congo‘s
Kinshasa occupied the first, second and third spots on the list, with AQI
scores of 208, 184 and 182, 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.
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.
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, reports UNB.