Dhaka’s air quality is ‘unhealthy’ this morning, April 20.
Dhaka ranked 5th with an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 161 at 8:57 am.th on the list of cities with the worst air quality worldwide.
Chile’s Santiago, Vietnam’s Hanoi and Thailand’s Chiang Mai occupied the first three spots in the list with AQI scores of 180, 170 and 169 respectively.
An AQI between 101 and 150 is considered ‘unhealthy’, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be ‘very unhealthy’, while a reading of 301+ is considered ‘hazardous’, posing a serious health risk to residents. does.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants – particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and ozone.
Dhaka has been grappling with the problem of air pollution for a long time. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winters and improves during monsoons.
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide each year, largely due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections. occurs as a result of.