Dhaka, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh, ranked third on the list of cities with the worst air quality, with an AQI score of 198 at 8:45am on Sunday morning.
Sunday’s air quality was classified as "unhealthy," indicating a health risk to residents, according to the AQI index.
The AQI value for particle pollution determines the severity of air pollution: 50–100: Moderate (sensitive individuals should consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion), 101–150: Unhealthy for sensitive groups, 151–200: Unhealthy, 201–300: Very unhealthy, 301+: Hazardous (poses serious health risks to residents).
India’s Delhi, Pakistan’s Lahore, and Nepal’s Kathmandu ranked first, second, and fourth, with AQI scores of 338, 251, and 188, respectively.
The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people about how clean or polluted the air in a certain city is and the associated health effects.
In Bangladesh, AQI is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO₂, CO, SO₂, and ozone.
Dhaka has long struggled with air pollution.
Its air quality typically worsens in winter and improves during the monsoon season.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution causes an estimated seven million deaths worldwide each year, primarily due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.
