Dhaka ranks 15th among world's most polluted cities

Dhaka ranked 15th among the world's most polluted cities on Sunday morning, recording an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 95 at 9:18 am. 

According to the AQI scale, the city's air quality was classified as ‘Moderate', poses moderate health concern for a very small number of unusually sensitive individuals (such as people with asthma, heart disease, or older adults).

Uganda’s Kampala topped the global list of cities with the worst air quality with an AQI score of 185, followed by Malaysia’s Kuching and Indonesia’s Jakarta, both with scores of 161. Bahrain’s Manama ranked third with an AQI score of 156.

According to AQI standards, a reading between 101 and 150 is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, 151 to 200 ‘unhealthy’, 201 to 300 ‘very unhealthy’, while levels above 301 are deemed ‘hazardous’, posing serious health risks.

The AQI, which provides daily updates on air quality, indicates how clean or polluted the air is and highlights 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 worsening in winter and improving during the monsoon season.

The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution causes around seven million deaths globally each year, mainly due to stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. -UNB