AQI: Dhaka air unhealthy, fifth worst in world on Tuesday morning

Dhaka's air quality was categorized as unhealthy, as the capital city ranked fifth on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality with an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 152 at 9am on Tuesday. 

India’s Delhi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Kinshasa and Indonesia’s Jakarta occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 260, 174 and 159, 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 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.

Per the 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.