Dhaka ranked 10th on the list of the world’s most polluted cities on Wednesday morning, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 133 at 9:40am.
The capital’s air was classified as “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” according to the AQI index, which flags elevated health risks for children, the elderly, and people with respiratory conditions.
The AQI categorizes air quality based on pollutant concentration levels. When the score is between 101 and 150, the air is deemed “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” A score between 151 and 200 signals “unhealthy” air, 201 to 300 is “very unhealthy,” and any reading above 301 is classified as “hazardous.”
Dubai topped Wednesday’s list with an AQI of 686, followed by Delhi with 191 and Wuhan with 172.
The AQI, a global standard for reporting daily air quality, helps people assess how clean or polluted the air is in a specific area and what health risks it might pose.
In Bangladesh, the AQI measures five major pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and ozone.
Dhaka struggles with air pollution year-round, with air quality usually deteriorating during winter and improving in the monsoon.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution causes around seven million deaths globally each year, linked to strokes, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and acute respiratory infections.
