Dhaka: Dhaka, the densely populated capital of Bangladesh, ranked first among the world’s most polluted cities on Tuesday morning, recording an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 275 at 11:19 am. Today, the city’s air was classified as ‘very unhealthy’, indicating a serious health threat, according to the AQI report.
According to United News of Bangladesh, Kinshasa in Congo, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, and Lahore in Pakistan occupied the second, third, and fourth spots on the list, with AQI scores of 246, 217, and 209 respectively. The AQI scale categorizes air quality where a reading between 50 and 100 is considered ‘moderate’. Levels from 101-150 are ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, 151-200 is ‘unhealthy’, 201-300 is ‘very unhealthy’, and readings above 301 are ‘hazardous’, posing severe health risks.
The AQI reports daily air quality, informing residents about how clean or polluted the air is and highlighting potential health effects. In Bangladesh, the AQI is calculated based on five key pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone.
Dhaka has long faced challenges with air pollution, with air quality typically worsening in winter and improving during the monsoon season. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that air pollution causes about seven million deaths worldwide each year, primarily from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.