Dhaka occupied the second position on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality. Dhaka's air quality index (AQI) score at 8:43am on Thursday stood at 181, classified as unhealthy.
An AQI score between 151 and 200 is unhealthy, 201-300 is very unhealthy and 301+ is hazardous, posing severe health risks to residents.
Iraq’s Bagdad and Vietnam’s Hanoi occupied the first and third spots on the list, with AQI scores of 222 and 173, respectively.
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 score in Bangladesh is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and ozone.
Dhaka has long grappled 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.