Dhaka air seventh most polluted in the world this morning

The air quality in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka is deemed ‘unhealthy’ this morning, UNB reports.

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 188 at 9:40 am on Tuesday, Dhaka ranked seventh in the list of world cities with worst air quality.

An AQI between 151 and 200 is said to be ‘unhealthy’ while 201 and 300 is considered ‘very unhealthy’, and 301 to 400 is considered ‘hazardous’, posing serious health risks to residents.

Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek and India’s Delhi occupied the first and second places with AQI of 245 and 224 respectively.

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.

As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.