Dhaka:The city of Dhaka was ranked as the 26th most polluted city in the world on Thursday morning, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 105 recorded at 1105 am.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the AQI scale classified Dhaka's air quality as 'Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups', indicating potential health risks for children, older adults, and individuals with heart or lung diseases, although the general population is largely unaffected.
Singapore led the list as the most polluted city with an AQI score of 220. Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia followed with a score of 214, and Medan in Indonesia was ranked third at 181.
The AQI standards define a range of 101 to 150 as 'unhealthy for sensitive groups', 151 to 200 as 'unhealthy', 201 to 300 as 'very unhealthy', and levels above 301 as 'hazardous', which pose serious health risks.
The AQI provides daily updates on air quality, helping to indicate how clean or polluted the air is and warn of potential health impacts. In Bangladesh, AQI calculations are based on five major pollutants particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone.
Dhaka has faced ongoing challenges with air pollution, which typically worsens during winter and improves during the monsoon season. The World Health Organization estimates that globally, air pollution is responsible for around seven million deaths each year, primarily due to stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.