Dhaka’s air remains ‘unhealthy’

Though Dhaka is no longer the world’s most polluted city, its air quality continues to be ‘unhealthy’.

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 112 at 9.01am on Thursday, the metropolis ranked sixth in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.

Indonesia’s Jakarta, Chile’s Santigao and Pakistan’s Karachi occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 171, 154 and 151, respectively.

An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered ‘unhealthy’, particularly for sensitive groups.

Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be ‘poor’, while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered ‘hazardous’, posing serious health risks to residents.

AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.

In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants—Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.