Monsoon keeps Dhaka’s air quality ‘moderate’

Dhaka‍‍`s air quality is ‘moderate’ on Friday morning as monsoon is fairly active in Bangladesh.

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 53, the capital of Bangladesh ranked 51st in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality at 9:00 am today.

South Africa’s Johannesburg, UAE’s Dubai, and Indonesia’s Jakarta occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 184, 168, and 161, respectively.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’ while an AQI between 50 and 100 is considered ‘moderate’ with acceptable air quality. Meanwhile, 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.

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 recognized as increasing a person‍‍`s chances of developing heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections, and cancer, according to several studies.

According to 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.