Dhaka’s air ‘very unhealthy’

Staff Reporter :

Dhaka had an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 186 at 7:30am on Sunday (January 19).
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Pakistan’s Lahore (469), India’s Delhi (298), Vietnam’s Hanoi (226) occupied the top three spots on the list, according to IQAir.
An AQI score of 0-50 is considered to be good while 51-100 is moderate. When the AQI score remains between 201 and 300, the air quality is considered very unhealthy.
The air is classified as unhealthy if the AQI score is 151-200.
The AQI index, based on daily air quality, provides information on how clean or polluted the air in a particular city is and what health risks it may pose to residents.
The air quality in Dhaka was rated as unhealthy, however, the PM2.5 concentration was 28.6 times higher than the WHO annual air quality guideline value.
Dhaka has been suffering from air pollution for a long time. Its air quality normally deteriorates during the winter and marginally improves during the monsoon season.
Due to poor quality of air, the environment ministry yesterday asked people in and around Dhaka to wear masks when outdoors and urged “sensitive individuals” to avoid going outside unless absolutely necessary.
The ministry issued the advisory saying that the air quality in Dhaka and its surrounding areas has deteriorated to an unhealthy and sometimes hazardous level (AQI above 250).