Dhaka’s air quality remains unhealthy this morning
25 April 2023, 10:38 am | Updated: 21 November 2024, 07:28 pm
Dhaka’s air ranked as the 10th most polluted in the world this morning as per Air Quality Index (AQI).
The air in Dhaka was categorised as ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, with an AQI score of 135 at 9:40 am.
Turkey's Istanbul, Myanmar's Yangon and Pakistan's Lahore occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 172, 160, and 157, respectively.
Read: Air pollution 2nd biggest cause of deaths in Bangladesh in 2019, cost about 3.9-4.4% of GDP: World Bank
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', while 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 been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in the winter and improves during the monsoon.
