Dhaka air quality remains unhealthy this morning

Dhaka‍‍`s air quality continued to be in the ‍‍`unhealthy‍‍` zone this morning.

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 160 at 9:13 am, Dhaka ranked eighth on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.

Pakistan’s Lahore, India’s Delhi and China’s Wuhan occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 248, 212 and 182, respectively.

When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, between 150 and 200 is ‘unhealthy’, 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. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.

As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year.