Capital Dhaka ranks second in air quality index at 9 am on air pollution today. At that time, Dhaka scored 198 in AQI air quality. The city’s air quality is currently ‘unhealthy’.
On the other hand, India’s Delhi, Pakistan’s Lahore and Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kinshasa are ranked first, third and fourth in the list with AQI scores of 275, 174 and 171 respectively.
An air quality between 101 and 150 on the AQI index is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, an AQI score between 151 and 200 is considered ‘unhealthy’. A score between 201 and 300 is considered ‘very unhealthy’ and an AQI score of 300 to 400 is considered ‘hazardous’, posing a serious health risk to residents.
AQI in Bangladesh is determined based on five characteristics of pollution. They are particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and ozone (O3).
Dhaka has been suffering from air pollution for a long time. Its air quality generally becomes unhealthy during winters and improves slightly during monsoons.
According to a report by the Department of Environment and the World Bank in March 2019, the three main sources of air pollution in Dhaka are brick kilns, vehicle fumes and dust from construction sites.
