City Desk :
Dhaka, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh, has ranked 42nd on the list of cities with the worst air quality with an AQI score of 64 at 9:45am on Friday.
The air was classified as “moderate”, according to the AQI index, reports UNB.
When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 50 and 100, air quality is considered “moderate”, usually sensitive individuals should consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion, 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.
Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Kinshasa, United Arab Emirates’ Dubai and Uganda’s Kampala occupied the first, second and third spots in the list, with AQI scores of 171, 157 and 156, respectively.
The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.
The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five 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.
As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.
There is also the industrial side of the city, contributing to the ever-growing pollution levels. Factory or production sites such as brick kilns are responsible for the massively elevated levels of pollution.
Due to an economic boom and the subsequent increase in demand, Dhaka’s kilns are known to produce billions of bricks each year, often relying on unregulated fuel sources for power (such as the burning of coal, wood and any other combustible material) which can release excessive amounts of noxious fumes and smoke into the atmosphere.