City Desk:
Dhaka, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh, has ranked ninth on the list of cities with the worst air quality, with an AQI score of 10 at 9:15am on Friday morning.
Friday’s air in Dhaka was classified as ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups,’ referring to a health threat, according to the AQI index. Though the air quality had been ‘moderate’ over the past few days, it turned unhealthy for sensitive groups, worsening the quality, 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, Uganda’s Kampala, and Chile’s Santiago cities respectively occupied the first, second, and third spots on the list, with AQI scores of 172, 167, and 167, 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.
