Bangladesh's capital Dhaka ranked 13th on the list of cities with the worst air quality on Sunday morning at 9:15am, recording an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 92.
With the score, Dhaka's air quality was classified as "moderate", indicating an acceptable level of air quality, although there may be a moderate health concern for a small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
Pakistan's Lahore topped the global list with an AQI score of 169, followed by Indonesia's Jakarta with 160 and Bahrain's Manama with 157.
An AQI between 50 and 100 is considered "moderate" with an acceptable air quality while AQI between 101 and 150 is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, while a score between 151 and 200 is classified as ‘unhealthy’. AQI readings between 201 and 300 are termed ‘very unhealthy’, and anything above 301 is considered ‘hazardous’, posing serious health risks.
The AQI is a daily indicator of air quality that informs people about how clean or polluted the air is and what associated health effects may be of concern.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is determined based on five major pollutants – particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and ozone.
Dhaka has long struggled with air pollution, with air quality typically deteriorating during the dry winter months and improving during the monsoon season.
According to the World Health Organization, air pollution causes around seven million deaths globally each year, mainly from stroke, heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
