Dhaka’s air quality slipped into the ‘unhealthy’ category on Thursday morning, recording an AQI score of 144 at 9:50am.
The capital ranked 16th among the world’s most polluted cities at that time.
According to the Air Quality Index, today’s reading signals a worrying level of pollution.
On Wednesday, the situation was even worse, with Dhaka posting an AQI of 205 categorised as ‘very unhealthy’.
The AQI measures air pollution on a scale where 50–100 is considered ‘moderate’, 101–150 indicates ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, 151–200 is ‘unhealthy’, 201–300 becomes ‘very unhealthy’, and anything above 300 is labelled ‘hazardous’, posing serious health risks.
India’s Delhi topped Thursday morning’s global pollution list with an alarming AQI of 493.
Pakistan’s Lahore followed with 226, while India’s Kolkata ranked third with 215.
Bangladesh uses AQI readings based on five major pollutants: PM2.5, PM10, NO₂, CO, SO₂ and ozone. Dhaka’s air pollution typically worsens during the dry winter months and improves when the monsoon arrives.
The World Health Organization estimates that around seven million people die globally every year due to air pollution–related diseases, including stroke, heart problems, lung cancer, chronic respiratory issues, and severe infections.
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