Dhaka’s air quality remained moderate on Friday morning, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 97 at 9:20am.
With the score, Dhaka ranked 20th among the world’s most polluted cities at the time.
Uganda’s Kampala topped the list with an AQI score of 186, followed by Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur with 179 and Indonesia’s Jakarta with 176.
An AQI score of 50 to 100 is considered ‘moderate’ and generally indicates acceptable air quality. A score of 101 to 150 is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, while 151 to 200 is classified as ‘unhealthy’.
AQI readings of 201 to 300 are considered ‘very unhealthy’, while scores above 301 are classified as ‘hazardous’ and may pose serious health risks.
The AQI is a daily measure of air quality that indicates how clean or polluted the air is and the potential health effects associated with pollution.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is calculated based on five major pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and ozone.