No improvement in Dhaka’s air quality, still ‘unhealthy’

Dhaka‍‍`s air quality has been identified as ‘unhealthy’ this morning.

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 172 at 10:21am, Dhaka ranked 6th on the list of cities around the world with the worst air quality.

Kuwait’s Kuwait City, Nepal’s Kathmandu and Thailand’s Chiang Mai occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 223, 214 and 208, respectively.

When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, between 151 and 200 is ‘unhealthy’, between 201 and 300 is said to be ‍‍`very unhealthy‍‍`, and 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 grappled with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in the winter and improves during the monsoon.