Air quality of Dhaka 5th worst polluted in the world Wednesday

Air pollution in Dhaka City.

DHAKA, Dec 18 - Dhaka, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh, has ranked fifth on the list of cities with the worst air quality with an AQI index of 216 at 8:45 am today.

Dhaka’s air was classified as 'unhealthy', according to the air quality and pollution city ranking.

India's Delhi, Bosnia Herzegovina's Sarajevo and Senegal's Dakar occupied the first and second spots in the list, with AQI scores of 441, 428 and 263, respectively.

An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy' while 201-300 is 'very unhealthy' and 301-400 is considered '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 has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon. - UNB