Dhaka's air quality continued to be in the moderate zone on Sunday morning, thanks to torrential rain for the past few days and with traffic yet to return to its usual form after the Eid holidays.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 68 at 8:25am, Dhaka ranked 29th on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.
India's Delhi, Pakistan's Lahore and China's Beijing occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 137, 133 and 114, respectively.
An AQI score between 50 and 100 is considered moderate with acceptable air quality. However, there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
Besides, an AQI between 150 and 200 is considered unhealthy, AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be very unhealthy, while a reading of 301+ is considered hazardous, posing serious health risks to residents.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants — particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and ozone.
Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year.
