Dhaka’s air quality still marks unhealthy

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 163 at 09:00am, Dhaka ranked the 5th on the list of cities around the world with the worst air quality.

Pakistan's Lahore, India's Delhi and Uganda's Kampala, occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 205, 183 and 170, respectively.

When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered 'unhealthy for sensitive groups', between 151 and 200 is 'unhealthy', between 201 and 300 is said to be 'very unhealthy', and a reading of 301+ 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 grappled with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in the 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.