Dhaka ranked 8th among the world's most polluted cities on Tuesday morning, recording an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 158 at 09:52 am.
The air quality was classified as ‘unhealthy’, meaning the concentration of pollutants in the air had reached a level that could pose health risks to the general population, according to the AQI scale.
Lahore in Pakistan ranked first with an AQI score of 201, while Singapore in Singapore and Delhi in India ranked second jointly with a score of 196, followed by Hanoi in Vietnam third place with an AQI score of 186.
According to AQI standards, a reading between 101 and 150 is considered 'unhealthy for sensitive groups', while 151 to 200 is classified as 'unhealthy'. A reading between 201 and 300 is considered 'very unhealthy', while levels above 301 are deemed 'hazardous', posing serious health risks.
The AQI provides daily updates on air quality, indicating how clean or polluted the air is and highlighting potential health impacts.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is calculated based on five major pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone.
Dhaka has long struggled with air pollution, with air quality typically deteriorating during winter and improving during the monsoon season.
The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution causes around seven million deaths globally each year, mainly from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. - UNB