Dhaka’s air 3rd most polluted in the world this morning

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 160 at 9:32 am today, Dhaka ranked third on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality. An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered ‘unhealthy'.

Dubai of United Arab Emirates and Doha of Qatar occupied the first and third spots on the list, with AQI scores of 170 and 161, respectively. When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, between 150 and 200 is ‘unhealthy’, between 201 and 300 is said to be 'very unhealthy', while a reading of 301+ is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.

In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone. Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues.

As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.

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