DHAKA, Bangladesh: This morning at 8:50 am, Dhaka once more secured the top spot for cities globally with the poorest air quality, recording an AQI score of 271.
According to The Daily Star, Dhaka’s air quality reached the ‘very unhealthy’ category, posing significant health risks to its residents based on the air quality index. Kolkata and Delhi in India, along with Wuhan in China, secured the second, third, and fourth spots respectively on the list, registering AQI scores of 244, 231, and 231. Lahore began the morning with an AQI of 186.
The classification of air quality, based on the AQI, indicates that when the particle pollution AQI falls between 101 and 150, it is deemed ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’. Ranging between 150 and 200 is considered ‘unhealthy’, while the 201 to 300 bracket is labeled ‘very unhealthy’, with any reading above 301 deemed ‘hazardous’, posing grave health risks to residents.
The AQI serves as a vital index for daily air quality, informing individuals about the cleanliness or pollution levels in a particular city and potential health effects.
Bangladesh’s AQI relies on assessing five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone.
Dhaka faces recurring challenges with air pollution, typically worsening during winter and improving during the monsoon season.
As highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution leads to an estimated seven million deaths globally annually, primarily due to increased mortality rates related to stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.
