Dhaka air turns ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, ranks 7th globally
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.
Dhaka, the densely populated capital of Bangladesh, ranked 7th among the world's most polluted cities this morning (22 April), with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 109 at 08:53am.
The air was classified as 'Unhealthy for sensitive groups', which means air quality is poor enough to cause health effects in vulnerable people, such as breathing discomfort, but the general public is unlikely to be affected, according to the AQI scale.
India's Delhi, Pakistan's Lahore and Nepal's Kathmandu were the three most polluted cities, with AQI scores of 273, 208 and 190.
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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 Organisation 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.
