Dhaka air turns unhealthy

Dhaka, the densely populated capital of Bangladesh, ranked 9th among the world’s most polluted cities on Saturday morning, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 102 at 09:20 am.

The air was classified as ‘unhealthy for sensitive group’, meaning affect people with underlying conditions, children, and older adults, while the general public is likely unaffected, according to the AQI scale.

India’s Delhi, Chile’s Santiago and Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kinshasa were the three most polluted cities, with AQI scores of 208, 164 and 160.

An AQI between 101 and 150 is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, while 151-200 is ‘unhealthy’, 201-300 is ‘very unhealthy’, and anything above 301 is ‘hazardous’ and can cause serious health problems.

The AQI measures daily air quality, showing how clean or polluted the air is and what health effects people might experience.

In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five main pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and ozone.

Dhaka has long faced serious air pollution. The situation usually gets worse in winter and improves during the monsoon season.

The World Health Organization says air pollution causes around seven million deaths worldwide each year, mainly due to stroke, heart disease, chronic respiratory illness, lung cancer and acute infections.